Saved To Save
by jennytork
Summary: First Story in the "MaryJohn" AU. The events at the end of "Jus In Bello" take a hard right turn with the arrival of a surprisingly honest demon - who might hold the key to saving Dean from his deal. The end result changes everything. Literally - including the brothers.
1. Chapter 1

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Here," Ruby spat, throwing what looked like bean bags at the brothers as she stood at the foot of their hotel room beds. "Hex bags. They'll protect you - throw Lilith off your trail." Her lip curled slightly. "For now."

Sam turned the bag over in his hands. "Thanks. For-"

"Shut up," the female demon spat. "Don't you _dare_ thank me. Not after this." She waved her hand toward the television screen, where the special report of the police station's decimation was still rolling out. "Lilith killed everyone - can't you realise that? She slaughtered your precious little virgin you were trying to protect and half a dozen people besides!" She crossed her arms and tilted her head, tossing her blonde hair over one shoulder as she did so. "So, after all your big talk about humanity even in war? Turns out _your_ plan was the one with the body count!"

Sam and Dean looked at each other, struck dumb in the face of her vehemence.

Ruby made a disgusted sound, throwing her hands up. "Do you even _know_ how to run a battle?"

"Do you even know how to shut up?"

The Winchesters were suddenly on their feet, guns drawn and pointed at the dark-haired man in the business suit leaning against their motel doorway, arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed lazily at the ankle.

"Crowley," Ruby snarled.

Sam blinked. "Wait - like _Alistair_ Crowley? Writer of the Satanic Bible?"

"Aaaah, the Moose has a brain," the newcomer purred, his voice holding a distinctly British accent. "Good call - although I'm not him." He clicked his tongue. "Adore his name, though."

"Whatever he wants," Ruby bit out, "don't accept."

"Oooohh." He pushed off of the doorframe and stood up. "Big words from Lilith's right hand bitch herself."

"Wait - _what?"_ Dean roared.

Ruby glared at him. "Shut up, Crowley."

"I'm here on business, Blondie," he snapped at her. "And looking for answers. For instance - there's the little matter of one of my girls making a deal for a soul that she has no right to. There's the little matter of just what Azazel's little minions brought back when that deal was made. And then - of course - there's the matter of what in the bloody blue hell the crown princess of half of Hell herself is doing sending her most trusted operative to pretend she's fighting against her?"

"Ruby, what's going on?" Sam demanded.

"Oh, _Ruby_ is it this time?" Crowley chuckled. "Seems you went by another name last time I ran across you. And it seems you were manipulating my girls into making deals behind my back that time, too."

"Ruby," Dean barked out. "Answer Sam!"

"Yes, _Ruby,"_ Crowley spat, his head tilting. "Answer Sam. Tell him the truth for once - tell him that Azazel and Lilith have been manipulating his family for decades to try to trigger the bloody _Apocalypse,_ using the Winchesters as their pawns in a civil war with nothing less than Hell and Earth itself as their prize!"

Ruby's fists clenched.

"Go on!" Crowley roared. _"Answer_ them!"

"Go back to hell," she snarled.

Crowley laughed. "You'd love that. Then you could continue to pull the wool over their trusting little eyes and continue the merry manipulations!" He turned to Sam and Dean. "I'm here with a counteroffer, buckos."

"What counteroffer?" Dean asked.

"Man after my own heart," Crowley said. "Straight to the point."

"Dean! Sam! Do _not_ listen to him!" Ruby shouted.

Crowley faced her again. "You never told them your real name, did you? Because then you knew they wouldn't listen."

Ruby was trembling now. "Shut _up,_ Crowley!"

He pointed at her. "_Make me,_ Asherah!"

She flinched, eyes clicking black as she hissed.

Sam's shoulders straightened and he suddenly whirled his gun to face her. "Asherah?" he growled.

"Sammy?" Dean asked, eyes flicking back and forth between the demons.

"You're _Asherah?"_ Sam spat. Taking her silent glare as mute assent, he informed Dean, "Asherah is a demon mentioned in the Old Testament. She tricked the people of the ancient Near East into worshiping her as a fertility goddess. And..."

Crowley nodded. "And tell him the rest of it..."

Sam gave a soft, scoffing chuckle. "And they called her the Queen of Heaven. Medaeval scholars figured out she was a demon - one of the highest-ranking female demons. Manipulative and seductive and sharp-tongued."

"And?" Dean asked.

Sam took a deep breath. "And second only to Lilith herself."

Dean's jaw twitched. "So where does that leave us?"

"Screwed," Sam growled softly.

"Not necessarily," Crowley put in. "As I said - I'm here on business." He nodded his head at Ruby. "She manipulated my girls into -"

"Wait, your girls?" Dean interrupted. "Your girls - make deals."

Crowley nodded.

"You're a _Crossroads_ demon!" Dean gasped.

"And it looks like there's an actual brain inside that pretty head!" Crowley smirked. "Who would have thought? I'm not _A_ crossroads demon, however, boy-o. I'm the _King_ of the Crossroads. And _these_ manipulative bitches have been screwing with my girls! Tricking them into bargaining for souls that weren't theirs to bargain for!"

"My contract?" Dean asked, eyes widening.

Crowley nodded. "The terms are unacceptable. That particular minx was manipulated into manipulating you. And the manipulations end right here."

"I'll destroy you," Ruby snarled.

"You haven't the guts _or_ the juice," he shot back before turning to the Winchesters again. "As I said - I'm offering a deal. An out. And it won't cost a soul or a limb or anything like that. You won't even have to seal it with a kiss."

"Start talking," Sam ordered. "We're listening."

"Sam-" Dean shuddered, suddenly aware of the limitations his deal had placed on him.

Crowley chuckled. "No worries, Dean. Sam won't drop dead. He never would. Because that part of the deal never held. It would only have held if what was brought back was - as Azazel put it - 100% pure Sammy. And it just so happens - it wasn't."

There was a moment of shocked silence, then Ruby started to laugh at the exact same moment Dean and Sam roared in perfect unison, "_WHAT?_"

"First things first," Crowley said, turning his full attention onto Ruby. Without even seeming to move - he was a demon, after all - he was suddenly across the room and pressing something into her neck.

She arched, her head falling back and her body stiffening. Crowley lowered his hand and the Winchesters saw that he had fastened a golden scarab to the side of her neck.

"Now, Asherah," Crowley purred. "Talk to me. Tell me the truth. Were you pretending to work against Lilith, or truly working against her?"

Ruby opened coal-black eyes. Her voice was a low monotone as her head returned to a more natural looking position. "Pretending."

Sam's jaw twitched and he turned away, shaking his head in incoherent rage. He had trusted her. He had believed her. And it had all been a lie.

Dean's free hand - the one that was not wrapped around a gun - squeezed Sam's free wrist.

Crowley nodded. "I thought as much. There is a reason you were pretending. Reveal it."

She seemed to struggle, but the words came out anyway. "Plan. Part... of the plan."

"Whose plan?" Dean demanded. "What plan?"

"A-Azazel," she choked out. "A-And Lucifer. Free Lucifer.. trigger Apocalypse... remake Earth... in the Lightbringer's image..."

Sam gasped out, "Why us? Why the Winchester family?"

Ruby's black eyes shifted to him. "...I..."

Crowley's fingers pressed the scarab and she wailed out, "It could have been any family... because of Sam's abilities... it could have been any family w-with a special ch-child... some-something went wrong with that..."

"What was that?" Dean asked.

"Your f-father," she replied. "He sh-should have reacted like the others did... but he didn't. He should have denied. He should have grieved and moved on."

"Instead, he became a hunter," Sam finished.

Dean nodded. "And he turned _us_ into hunters." Then something else she said clicked. "Sam's abilities. But those were caused by the demon bl-" He broke off, seeing both demons shaking their heads. "Are you serious?" he yelped.

"My visions are _inborn?"_ Sam gasped.

Crowley smirked. "You're getting it. Your visions are inborn, and you have other abilities that make you very, very dangerous to demons." He waved a hand. "The demon blood amplified them and was a conduit for Azazel to reach you. But the abilities are inborn."

He shook his head. "I don't want them."

"Then don't use them." Crowley shrugged. "Simple as that."

"But the visions," Dean said. "They've stopped!"

"Dormant," Ruby stuttered out. "Not stopped."

Crowley clapped his hands. "Right, then! All we have to do to stop all this - to _truly_ stop Lilith, not the false way that Asherah here was feeding you - is to keep Dean here out of Hell."

"Wait!" Dean yelped. "You're a demon - how do we know you're telling the truth? Demons lie!" He jabbed a finger toward Sam. "And what the _hell_ did you mean that isn't 100% pure Sam?"

"Because I like you, bucko, I'll take those in order." Crowley held up a finger. "One - yes, demons lie. Yes, I am - technically - a demon. But I am, first and foremost, a businessman. I may deal in souls, but I still _deal._ I _barter_. And lies work against a successful barter. Those who deal with me and mine go into the deal fully knowing all the terms. Then it is their choice whether or not to accept those terms."

"Dean wasn't -" Sam began.

Crowley interrupted, "No. He wasn't aware of them all. Because that little minx was working for Lilith, and was no longer one of mine. Thanks for your assistance, Sam. You spared me the tedium of dealing with her myself." His lip curled. "As it is, I still have to deal with the fallout."

Ruby opened her mouth, and Crowley jerked the scarab off of her neck and snarled, "You're finished." He lunged for her, shoved her backward, and tossed something to Sam in one fluid motion.

Sam caught it one-handed. Realising what he held, he flipped the knife in his hand and threw it.

Ruby wailed, arching as the demon-killer knife sank deep into her shoulder. She lit from inside and fell to the ground, dead within seconds.

Dean pulled the knife from her shoulder and gestured the bloody blade in Crowley's direction. "Answer the other question before I use this on you. What did you mean about him being not 100% Sam?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Crowley asked, jerking his head toward Sam. "Shorter temper. Quicker to kill. Colder about it. Refusing to take care of himself because his brother is in danger. Are you honestly telling me you can't see it?"

"See what?" they asked in unison.

"Hell's bells," Crowley growled. "For a pair so smart... Look, Lilith needed to manipulate you, Sam. She needed you reeling. Off-balance. So single-mindedly focused that she could get you do to anything - _Any. Thing_. - so long as it was tied to that purpose. And she could trick you into doing her bidding that way. As you were, that couldn't happen. You were too stubborn. Too independent. Too intent on avenging dear Jessica and then returning to your normal life."

Dean blinked. "I've not heard you mention anything like that since you... came back."

"Because he's not like that anymore," Crowley said. "You still don't get it, do you?"

"Just spit it out!" Sam growled.

Crowley let out a groaning sigh. "All right! Fine! What came back isn't interested in normal. He's not as independent. He's a hunter, through and through. And his purpose - his _one reason for living_ - is his _brother_."

Dean's eyes went huge and his gun and his jaw both lowered in his shock.

Crowley threw up his hands. "And he gets it!"

Sam looked back and forth between the pair of them. "Well, could someone fill me in? Because you're discussing my life and I'm feeling left out of it, here!"

"Oh, my G-d," Dean breathed. "What came back _wasn't_ 100% Sam Winchester..."

Crowley nodded and finished for him, since Dean's throat seemed to have closed up and choked off the words. "All Sam in body. But in mind and personality? That's not Sam."

Sam scoffed. "Okay. So if I'm not all Sam - who _am_ I?"

"...me." Sam's eyes swiveled to Dean, who was so pale his freckles were standing out in stark relief on his nose and cheeks. His voice was wrecked. "...you're partly... _me."_

**CONTINUED...**


	2. A Glimmer Of Hope

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Dean wasn't sure exactly what reaction he was expecting.

But he was pretty sure hysterical laughter wasn't it. Sam's gun clattered to the floor as he keeled backwards onto the bed he was sitting on, his large frame shuddering as spasm after spasm of wild giggles and guffaws erupted. His head turned from side to side, tears leaking from his eyes.

Dean seriously feared for his sanity, watching his little brother lose it again and again. "Sam?" When that had no reaction, he tried, "Sammy?"

Sam slowly sat up, shaking his head and wiping his palms across his cheeks. "Okay... okay, I see what's going on, now."

"What's that?" Dean asked warily.

"Who is he, really, Dean? Did you hire him? I almost believed the entire spiel - and killing Ruby was a really nice touch, but a little bit overkill - until you said that I'm partly _you._ C'mon, Dean, joke's over. What's really going on, here?"

Dean closed his eyes and held onto the bridge of his nose in a 'give me strength' gesture. "Sammy," he sighed. "I didn't hire him. I never saw him before today. I think he's exactly who he says he is and I think he's told us the truth up till now."

Sam looked over at him and another, though smaller, round of helpless giggles erupted. "Yeah, right. Enough's enough, Dean. Tell me what's really going on, okay?"

Dean looked incredulously at Sam, then gained his feet. Lunging, he knocked the scarab from Crowley's grasp with one hand and caught it with the other. He slammed it into Crowley's neck and the demon hissed, his eyes going red from corner to corner as he arched.

Dean stepped back as Crowley's head resumed a more normal position. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Crowley's voice had become a dull monotone. "I am the King of the Crossroads Demons. I have many names, but the one that suits me here and now is Crowley. No relation to the Satanic church founder."

"You've hit us with a lot of information today. We know that demons lie. We know that this charm compels you to be absolutely truthful. So. What have you lied about in this font of information you've delivered to us?"

The answer was as shocking as it was instant.

"I have lied about nothing. Everything I've told you was the truth."

Sam's jaw lowered as his eyes widened. "You mean... You really _are_ a demon who's being extraordinarily honest?"

"Yes, I am."

"You really believe that Lilith wants Dean in hell so he can break the first of these 66 seals and jump start the Apocalpyse?"

"Yes. I do."

Sam blinked. "Then what you said about me..."

"Speculation," Crowley monotoned. "Nobody is certain what happened, but your personality has definitely shifted to become more like Dean in some aspects. Most notably, the single-mindedness of your hunting and the fierce devotion to your brother."

Sam licked his lips. "And you have hinted that Dean can be rescued from this fate. Is that true?"

"It is."

"So," Sam and Dean said in unison. Then Sam said, "Tell us how he can be saved" at the exact same time Dean said, "Tell us how to reverse what's been done to Sammy!"

They looked at each other, then barked out in perfect unison, "No, dude, you're more important!"

Crowley broke into laughter. After a moment of glaring, both brothers chuckled as well.

Crowley then said, "It's only speculation, mind you. Nobody knows exactly what happened. But there's a reason Crossroads Deals are sealed with a kiss. In that kiss, a tiny sliver of soul is removed and used as... as collateral on the loan, for lack of a better term. My best guess is that, somehow, that tiny sliver of soul was added to Sam when he was reanimated."

Dean frowned. "Like a jump to a car battery?"

Sam glared. "Dude, I'm not the Impala!"

Crowley chuckled at that. "No, you're not. And that's not what I mean. I mean more along the lines of... of proof of purchase. That tiny little bit was put in there to show the price that was paid for your reawakening. Granted, this is all speculation, but..."

"But it makes sense," Sam nodded slowly. "More sense than bringing me back unchanged from the goodness of a demon's heart - even in response to a deal."

Dean nodded slowly. "I think you're right."

Sam nodded again, his eyes on the scarab slowly pulsing on Crowley's neck. "So - now that we've got me sorted out, I want to hear about how to rescue Dean from Hell."

"That will take some doing." Crowley's face shuttered as the truth came out. "And it might not even work-"

"We kill Lilith, right?" Dean asked.

"Would that we could, Winchester, but we need to leave her alive. The Apocalypse has to happen sometime, after all. Just...not right now."

Sam shook his head. "But won't she just keep killing indiscriminately?"

"No," Crowley said. "With Dean-o here not in Hell, her plan is derailed for a few more centuries, at least. She'll go to ground and bide her time until the times are right again. But your generation is spared."

The brothers nodded as one. Dean frowned. "But I don't understand something."

"Well, no surprise there," Crowley muttered.

"Watch it," Sam warned and the demon tilted his head in mute apology.

Dean glared at him and then said, "There's nowhere on Earth that the hellhounds won't be able to find me if we don't break the deal. And if we do break the deal, Sammy-"

"-will be fine," Crowley interrupted. "We're not going to break the deal."

"Then there's no way to keep me out of Hell," Dean growled. "The hellhounds will find me no matter where on Earth I go!"

"Exactly," Crowley began to smile.

The Winchesters looked at each other, now hopelessly confused.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

One phone call later, and the Winchesters packed up the room while Crowley talked to Bobby Singer on speakerphone. Questions and answers flew back and forth, the same things that had been gone over with the Winchesters were gone over again and again.

At last, Bobby asked the question on everyone's minds. "What do you mean, 'Exactly'? What are you talking about?"

"You're a researcher, Singer," Crowley answered. "Research the 'Removers'."

Silence for a moment, then Bobby breathed, "That's just a legend."

"Demons are only legendary too, aren't we?" Crowley shot back. "And so is the Golden Truth, but it's been attached to my neck for the last half hour or so."

There was a deep sigh, then Bobby said, "Okay. Point taken. I don't want you anywhere near my house."

"No worries," Crowley replied. "I don't intend to get anywhere near your house."

Dean scooped up the phone and shut off the speaker. "Bobby? We're on our way. See you when we get there." He closed the phone and removed the scarab from Crowley's neck. "Get out of here."

Crowley blinked up at him. "You're not going to milk me for more information?"

"We know how to get you if we do," Sam said with a smirk. "Nearest crossroads..."

Scoffing, Crowley shook his head. "Don't take this wrong, but I don't want to see you yahoos for a long time."

"No offense taken," Dean said with a smirk. "Get out of here."

Crowley stood up and walked toward the door. He turned and held out his hand. "The scarab...if you please."

"No," Dean said. "Consider it collateral."

And Crowley broke into a genuine smile. "Now you're speaking my language." He lowered his hand and walked out the door before vanishing in a burst of sulfur stink.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Because of the stress of the last few days, the journey from Monument, Colorado, to Bobby's place in Sioux Falls took a lot longer than the expected twelve hours. When Dean nearly fell asleep behind the wheel, they sought out a motel and called Bobby, telling him they were stopping to rest.

They then proceeded to crash for about twelve hours.

After a drive-through breakfast, the brothers completed their drive to Bobby's. They got out and did the requisite belt of holy water, and then got down to business. "So what did he mean, the 'Removers'?" Sam asked. "And what does that mean for Dean?"

-Bobby sighed and headed to his library with them trailing along. "Well," he sighed a second time. "I started with the legend and went from there."

"So what _are_ these 'Removers'?" Dean asked.

"They're a legend," Bobby said as he sat down. "Let me read something to you."

Dean and Sam sat down as Bobby opened a book and began to read aloud:

"'The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.'"

Dean blinked. "That sounded...almost Biblical."

"It should," Bobby shot back. "It's from the first chapter of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. He saw a vision of living creatures and each creature had a wheel within a wheel with him. The legend is that these wheels and creatures-"

"Aren't they angels, Bobby?" Sam interrupted.

"Some people think so," Bobby nodded. "Most people think so. But there's a ribbon of lore that states that these are aliens and the 'wheel within a wheel' are spaceships."

Sam smiled at him. "So which do you believe?"

Bobby snorted and tapped the paper. "Anyway, this vision is what people think of as the 'Removers'."

"So what are they?" Sam asked and Bobby looked at him.

"They're just what they say. People are removed from Earth and taken - somewhere. Nobody knows where, but it's more than likely nowhere on Earth."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Nowhere on Earth the hellhounds can't find me," Dean breathed.

"These Removers, they're the answer that Crowley was getting at!" Sam broke into a dazzling grin. "Dean, this is it! This is how you're saved! You don't have to go to Hell! These Removers-"

"Whoa, settle down there," Dean held up a hand. "First of all, we don't even know if they're real. Second of all, if they are real, how do we get hold of them? Thirdly, why would they even help us? And fourth?" He reached over and curled a hand on the back of Sam's neck. "I'm not doing anything without you."

"Not even survive Hell?" Sam asked, and he sounded wrecked.

"No, Sammy. Not even survive Hell."

Bobby cleared his throat. "This is all well and good, but it's all moot unless we can find these 'Removers'. And right now they're still very much in the realm of legend. I still haven't found anything to indicate that they're even real."

"I think I can help you there." Three guns were suddenly in hands and pointed at the newcomer, who walked into the room - through the devil's traps and over the salt lines - like he owned the place. "And I intend to help you - once you put the guns down."

"Who the hell are you?" Bobby demanded. "And how the hell did you get into my house?"

The man's head tilted slightly and Dean had the crazy mental image of an overgrown, humanoid bird. "Hell had nothing to do with it, Robert Singer. I am Castiel - I am an angel of the Lord. And I am here to assist you."

"An _angel?"_ Dean and Sam unisoned, before Dean finished, "There's no such thing!"

Cobalt eyes were fixed on his own jade ones, and Dean felt mingled amusement and disbelief rolling off the man in waves. "You battle the forces of Hell on a daily basis and yet you do not believe there are forces of Heaven as well?"

"I've never seen one," Dean growled.

"You have," the newcomer said with a slight smile. "You just did not realise it. And now, you have seen one in truth."

As he finished saying that, there was a sound like a clap of thunder and light flared behind him. In that light was revealed the shadows of two massive wings unfurling from the man's back. The wings retracted and the light faded and yes, the man was definitely smiling now.

"If you're an angel," Dean said, though he lowered his gun, feeling no threat from the strange man. "How come you look like some kind of... of holy tax accountant?"

The man - Castiel, Dean reminded himself - looked down at himself and touched his own chest. "The true form of an angel would render your eyes empty, bloody, sightless sockets. The true voice of an angel would burst your ears from the inside out, leaving you in impenetrable, permanent silence. This is a vessel, chosen to facilitate communication."

Dean's eyes went huge in shock. "You mean you're _possessing_ some poor bastard?"

Castiel smiled again. "The 'poor bastard' has a name. It's Jimmy. And yes, you could use that term 'possessing'. He prayed to be used of Heaven. He is a very devout man. And he is very aware of everything that is going on, so please refrain from casting aspersions upon his parentage.'

Sam lowered his gun and laughed. "Dude, I think you've just been verbally smited!"

"Shut it," Dean growled. He heard Bobby's gun uncock.

"Castiel," Bobby said, going to his shelf and running a finger along spines before he found what he was looking for and pulled the book out. He laid it on the table and opened it, rifling through the pages. "I know that name from somewhere..."

Castiel opened his mouth to reply, but then Bobby jabbed a finger at something on the page. "Yes, here it is. Castiel is a guardian spirit. The Angel of Thursdays. He is at once a warrior and a healer."

"And on this day," Castiel nodded, "a messenger as well."

Sam gestured at the book. "So that's you, then?"

"Yes."

Dean frowned. "What message are you here to deliver?"

Castiel motioned toward chairs, and sat on the windowseat with the sun at his back. As the three sat down, he began, "Tell me what you are aware of, so I may know where to begin without repeating things you already know."

Dean and Sam spoke over each other, filling him in about the Yellow-Eyed Demon. About Cold Oak. About Dean's Crossroads Deal. About Ruby and Lilith. About Crowley's visit - was that only the night before? - and the information dump he'd deposited in their laps.

Bobby took over and told about the 'Removers' and how that could possibly save Dean.

Castiel nodded slowly. "Then I shall fill you in on the other side. Lilith is not working alone. There are angelic powers who also want Dean in Hell to break the first seal and begin the Apocalypse."

_"What?"_ the brothers and Bobby erupted in unison. "Why?"

Castiel gave a sigh that seemed to come from his toes and leaned forward, clasping his hands loosely between the knees that his elbows rested on. "To understand that, you need to understand what is happening in Heaven, outside mortal eyes. Our Father has been - away - for some time and in his absence, many of my brothers and sisters have become..." He seemed to be groping for the words.

They waited patiently until he found them. "...bored. They want tasks. Purpose. To that end, they feel that if they can help trigger the Apocalypse and use the two of you as a modern-day Cain and Abel, then paradise on Earth will come about."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Brother against brother, huh?"

"Never gonna happen," Dean said firmly.

"They will try to force it to happen by any means necessary," Castiel sighed. "Up to and including having Dean go to Hell and break the first seal."

Bobby put in, "I take it this ain't exactly the way God wanted things to go."

Castiel fixed unsettling cobalt eyes on him. "You take it correctly, Mister Singer."

"Bobby," Bobby said. "We're all friends here, till you prove otherwise."

"Then we are all friends - Bobby. I am here to assist." He licked visibly chapped lips in what seemed to be an unconscious gesture. "There are those who realise that this is not the time for Apocalypse and are trying to undo what has been put into motion. By any means necessary."

"Up to and including you revealing the inner workings of Heaven to us," Sam said, and Castiel nodded once, slowly.

"So what can you do to help?" Dean asked. "Cause I sure don't wanna die - not if this is what I gotta look forward to!"

Castiel inclined his head toward Bobby. "Your demonic source was correct. The B'Shain are your best hope."

"The who?" Bobby asked.

"The B'Shain. Your preliminary research has named them the Removers, but their proper designation is the B'Shain. With your permission, I shall contact them and see if there is truly anything they can do and what - precisely - that entails for you."

Dean nodded. "Thank you." And he meant that sincerely.

Castiel nodded and stood up.

"Castiel, wait," Sam said, standing as well. "Crowley speculated that when I was - returned - I wasn't completely myself. That I now have a sliver of Dean's soul inside of me."

"I could see," Castiel said. "But it would be extremely painful for you."

"I can take pain," Sam shot back. "I have to know."

"Sammy," Dean began.

"Dean - I have to know!"

"Sit down, then." Sam did and Castiel walked over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry for the pain this will cause, Samuel."

"Sam," came the automatic correction.

"Sam." And his other hand lay flat on Sam's chest for a second.

Then Sam screamed, his head falling back, as Castiel's hand seemed to sink completely into his chest.

**CONTINUED...**


	3. Soulmates

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER THREE**

Castiel removed his hand and caught Sam as he toppled from the chair onto his knees. "He needs water."

"On it," Dean said, running to get a glass.

"Hush, Sam, I have you," Castiel said soothingly, touching Sam's forehead with two fingers and smiling softly at the involuntary gasp as all pain suddenly stopped all at once.

Dean returned and took over, holding Sam with one arm while feeding him the water with his other hand. After Sam had taken his fill and Dean had insisted on helping him back into the chair, Sam looked up at Castiel. "...well?"

Castiel sighed. "Your demonic source was telling the truth. You are, indeed, soulmates in the most literal sense of the word. You carry a tiny sliver of Dean's soul inside you, and there is some of your own soul missing to make room for it."

"That's why his personality has changed so much," Dean gasped, and Castiel nodded.

"But as to where the bit of soul removed to house the sliver from Dean has gone to?" Castiel shook his head. "I can't say."

"I can," Bobby said. "Like attracts like. Soul fragment's lookin' for somethin' familiar - sure bet it went almost immediately to where it would be most at home." He nodded toward Dean. "Inside there."

Both brothers frowned, then Sam spoke up. "But - he isn't any different. Not like I've been."

"Ain't he?"

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "As a matter of fact, he's been more like himself since Cold Oak than I ever remember-"

"Boy's overcompensatin'. He can tell somethin's off, but he's denyin' it and acting like everything's just fine. Right, Dean?" Bobby asked pointedly.

Dean just swallowed.

Sam sagged deeper into his seat. "Oh..._lovely."_

Castiel looked from one to the other. "I must go speak to the B'Shain."

Bobby nodded. "Come back here soon as you have anything, okay?" Castiel nodded. "And, boy? Don't just be poppin' in." He tossed an old cellphone into Castiel's hands. "Call ahead."

"I will." And then he was gone.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

The next morning, the first words Dean heard when he woke were, "Soulmates, huh?"

He groaned and threw his hands over his face. "Sammy, I swear, if you don't shut _up_ about that..."

"No, hear me out. I'm not talking some romantic bullshit or swearing undying fealty to you or any of that crap. But - _dude_ - we literally - _literally..."_ Dean could somehow sense Sam's head shaking. "Dean, we _share_ a _soul..."_

Dean sighed and lowered his hands. "Yeah, Sammy. We share a soul. I've got some of yours inside me and you've got some of mine inside you and it's way too damned early to be thinking this damned deep before we've had a cup of coffee or even gotten out of bed so why don't you just _drop it_ for awhile, huh?"

When there was no answer, he turned his head to find Sam staring at him with wide eyes and a lowered jaw. "What?" he demanded.

"Huh," Sam said, blinking and pulling up his jaw. "There's where the Ramblefish went. I was wondering why I wasn't rambling anymore."

Dean stared at him for a moment, then made a sound midway between a groan and a chuckle and got out of bed. "Forget it. Too early. I need coffee. Think Bobby'd mind if I hooked up an IV and mainlined some?"

Sam barked out a laugh. "Get downstairs, jerk! And don't forget to save some for me!"

"Bite me, bitch." But Dean was grinning as he headed down the stairs.

Some things truly never changed, and it felt good to just banter with his brother again.

He entered the kitchen to find Bobby sitting at the table with Castiel there. Dean blinked. "When'd you get here?"

"Just a few moments ago," the angel said. "I have news-"

Dean held up a hand. "Stop right there. I need coffee. I need a shower. I need Sam. I am not gonna stand here in my pyjamas and listen to what you found and then have to hear it again when you explain it to Sammy." He padded barefoot over to the coffeepot and poured two cups. He loaded one with three spoonfuls of sugar and enough milk to change it from dark brown to creamy tan. "Gimme fifteen."

With that, he headed back up the stairs.

Sam didn't even look up from the computer, he just held out a hand as Dean passed his coffee to him. "Thanks. Found us a possible hunt to tide us over until Castiel returns-"

"Scratch that. He's downstairs."

Sam looked up. "Yeah? What'd he say?"

"Nothin'. Too early, remember? Coffee, shower, dress, and we go down and hear it together."

Sam reached out and shut the laptop with a soft 'snick'. "Sounds like a plan to me."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

Coffee was downed in record time. Showers were taken at the usual speed. Because he took longer, Dean laid out Sam's clothes for him after he got dressed as a silent apology.

Once they were both all done in the bathroom and their caffeine levels had risen enough they were both fully coherent, the brothers headed back downstairs and found Castiel still sitting at the kitchen table.

Bobby was at the stove, finishing up a plate of pancakes. "Sit down and eat, boys."

Castiel looked up at him as the brothers sat. "But I thought we were going to talk."

"Trust me," Bobby said, "they can listen and eat at the same time. Go ahead, Feathers, start the story."

"My name is Castiel," the angel said. "Not Feathers."

"Fine," Bobby said as he put the pancakes and syrup on the table and swiped at Dean's hand as he tried to grab one before the plate had come to rest. "Whatever you say. Feathers."

"Don't feel bad," Sam smiled. "That's just Bobby's way. He calls us 'idjits' every day."

"I don't feel bad," Castiel replied, an eyebrow raising as Dean put a pancake on a plate and put syrup on it before sliding the plate to him. "And what am I to do with this?"

"Eat it," Dean said, his mouth full.

Castiel's head tilted in that strange, birdlike way. "But I have no need of-"

"Eat it, Feathers," Bobby interrupted.

"But I-"

Sam turned his head, looking him in the eyes. "Castiel. Eat it."

Castiel's jaw closed with near-audible click and he picked up his fork. A few moments later, they were treated to a soft smile. "This is pleasant."

Bobby nodded. "Glad you like my cookin'." He sat down and got himself a pancake off the stack.

After a few more moments of inhaling the stack, Sam asked, "So were you able to talk to the B'Shain?"

"I was, indeed," Castiel said before his tongue darted out - apparently without his conscious intent - to chase an errant drop of syrup that had tried to make a grand escape from the corner of his mouth. "I was most... disheartened... by their response."

"So it's no, then," Sam sighed, and the mood in the room plunged.

Castiel set his fork down onto his empty plate. "It's a... _provisional_ ... no." He finished the mug of coffee Bobby had set at his place and - following Dean's example - used the back of his hand to wipe the liquid from his lips. "I am to return to them in a few days."

"Provisional?" Dean asked, frowning. "What's provisional about no?"

"The B'Shain feel that you are asking for their help out of ignorance. They wish you to be made aware of everything you are actually requesting of them. Once you know all the facts, you are to decide if this is still the course of action you wish to pursue. I will deliver your answer to them and everything shall move on from that point."

"Just answer this," Dean said, gesturing with his fork. "Am I gonna live and is Sammy gonna be able to stay with me?"

"If you go through with this plan with the B'Shain?" At Dean's nod, Castiel noded as well. "Yes."

Dean spread his hands. "Then I know all I need to know."

"The B'Shain feel otherwise, Dean," Castiel said patiently. "And that's why I'm here, now. I'm to make you aware of all the ramifications of this choice."

"Then make me aware of them," Dean said. "My decision won't change."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Castiel replied. "Tell me what you think you know."

Sam chuckled softly at that, and Dean glared at him before he began. "I know that they're the Removers and that they have the ability to make it so that I somehow survive the hellhounds and my contract. I don't know how."

"I have some theories," Sam said. "They can somehow mask Dean from the hellhounds. They can shield him or protect him."

"Except they're called _Removers,"_ Bobby put in. "So it stands to reason the B'Shain will somehow remove the contract from Dean."

"No," Castiel said. "They won't remove the contract from Dean. They will remove Dean from the terms of the contract."

Dean waggled his hand back and forth. "Same difference."

"No, Dean," Castiel said. "It isn't."

Sam's eyes went huge. "You're not talking about masking him or hiding him, are you?"

Castiel didn't answer.

"Castiel?" Sam demanded. "You're not talking about hiding Dean at all!"

Cobalt eyes locked onto jade as Castiel answered at last. "No. I'm not. They will not hide him from the hellhounds. They will remove him from their perceptions. Completely."

"Permanently?" Bobby growled.

"Yes," Castiel said, though his eyes didn't move from Dean's. "Permanently."

Bobby said, low and dangerous, "Get outta my house and away from my boys."

"Bobby," Dean snapped.

"Dammit, Dean, he's talkin' about _killin'_ you!"

Castiel turned to look at Bobby. "I am not. The B'Shain are not going to kill Dean."

"Then what are they gonna do?" Bobby growled. "Because 'permanently' sounds an awful hell of a lot like killin'!"

"Dean," Castiel said, returning his gaze to the older Winchester, who now sat ramrod-straight in his chair. "The B'Shain do not intend to kill you or harm you in any way. They will merely remove you from the terms of the contract."

"How are they gonna do that, huh?" Dean demanded. "Hellhounds will be able to find me no matter where I am if this contract holds!"

Castiel shook his head. "No, Dean. Not everywhere."

Sam interrupted, "What do you mean?"

"The hellhounds will be able to find you anywhere on Earth that you go." Castiel's head tilted slightly. "So, the B'Shain intend to remove you from Earth."

**CONTINUED...**


	4. Questions

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

In the stunned silence that greeted that pronouncement, Castiel suddenly understood the meaning of the human phrase "so quiet you could have heard a pin drop". He also understood the meaning of "eyes boring through you", because the three pairs of huge wide eyes were doing just that. In an effort to quell the nervous feeling it gave him, he picked up his cup to take another drink of coffee and found himself blinking at it when it was found to be empty. He set it back down and looked at the three, trying not to shift under the scrutiny of their stares as he felt Jimmy go off laughing wildly in the back of his mind.

_"What_ did you just say?" Dean asked at long last, his voice thick with disbelief and shock.

"Did you not hear me?' Castiel asked, concerned.

"Oh, we heard you," Sam said.

Bobby finished, "We're just havin' a hard time believing what we've just heard."

"I assure you, it's the truth," Castiel said, looking to see if there was another pancake. The stack was gone. He looked back up at the three starers. "The B'Shain are removers in the most literal sense of the word. They remove certain people - sometimes entire families- from Earth and take them elsewhere."

"Where?" the brothers asked in unison.

Castiel shook his head. "They have several places. I don't know where you would be taken."

"Why?" they chorused again.

"It varies from person to person. Sometimes it is what the person needs. Sometimes it is what the B'Shain require. In your case? It would be a combination of both. You require the Crossroads Deal to be broken without endangering your soulmate."

"My brother," Dean shot back instantly.

"Yes," Castiel said, raising one hand, palm to the sky. "Your brother. And-" He turned his other hand over. "The B'Shain require certain - skills - that the two of you possess. They are aware that if they take one of you, they take both of you." His hands moved like he was weighing on a balance. "It is mutually beneficial."

There was a long moment of silence, then Dean leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he turned to face Castiel. "Fine. But I've got some questions of my own."

"Ask them."

"First of all," Dean said, tapping the table, "you said this is pretty well permanent. Meaning once they take us, we can't return. We have friends here - Bobby and Ellen and Jo, for three. We can't just abandon them. Find an answer to that."

Castiel nodded.

"Second, I need to know exactly where they'll be - relocating us. And exactly what we're going to be facing there. Otherwise I'm agreeing blind and you said that's something the B'Shain don't want me to do. And on that, I'm with them a hundred percent."

Another nod.

"Third, I need to know what I can and can't bring. Is there a weight limit or a space limit?"

"Is that it?"

"One more." Dean's head tilted, jerking toward the window behind him. "I ain't leavin' my baby behind. She's been home since I was four and she's the only home Sammy's ever known."

Bobby groaned. "We're talkin' about your life and you're worried about your _car?"_

Sam made a sound halfway between a huff and a laugh. "This is Dean, after all."

Bobby sat back. "Point taken."

Ignoring them, Dean smiled closed-mouthed at Castiel. "So you get those answers and get back with me."

"I shall. Is that all?"

Dean nodded. "For now. Sammy, you got anything to add?"

"No," Sam said slowly. "I think that just about covers it all."

Dean nodded again and turned back to Castiel. "Okay, then?"

"Okay," Castiel answered. He rose to his feet. "Thank you for the pancakes and coffee, Bobby. I genuinely enjoyed them."

And that got a slight smile out of the grizzled older hunter. "I think you did, Feathers. And you're welcome."

A gentle incline of the head, and Castiel was gone.

Sam turned to Dean. "The Impala as a bargaining chip, Dean? Really? We're talking about your _life_ here-"

"I just want to see how serious they are," Dean interrupted what appeared to be a beauty of a rant ramping up. "If they're willing to work with me..."

Sam didn't have anything to say to that. He just leaned over and squeezed Dean's wrist before standing up and clearing the table.

Falling back on his childhood chores to disguise the knot of worry blooming in his stomach.

Would this work? What would the B'Shain say? How would this even develop? Could this really be it?

Could this really be the answer to surviving the Crossroads Deal?

Would this really avert the Apocalypse?

Heaven - in Castiel - and Hell - in Crowley - and now living science fiction - the B'Shain - were all working in tandem to keep Dean out of Hell.

All this for the soul of one man.

Sam looked at Dean over his shoulder, who was now staring out the window silently, his fingers twitching as if he itched to hold a cigarette.

A knot of love rose into Sam's throat, so large he felt for a second as if he was strangling with it.

And he found himself praying. _Please...please._

It was all he could do.

He hated waiting as badly as Dean did, he was just better about not showing it. But at the moment, he itched to pour bullets into something evil.

Just to have something to _do._

As if sensing his scrutiny - and who knows, maybe with this bizarre joined soul, he _could_ - Dean turned to face him. He smiled and stood up, walking over and clapping a hand onto Sam's shoulder. "Let's go into Sioux Falls for awhile, huh? Just to have something to do today."

Sam blinked in naked shock at him, then felt his lips curve into a smile. "Yeah," he whispered around the knot in his throat. "Yeah, sounds good."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

Three days.

It had been three days since Castiel had left with Dean's questions seared into his brain, and the angel hadn't reappeared.

Bobby had insisted they remain at his house and wait, "Just so Feathers won't have to traipse all over Creation to locate you boys."

It was okay, though. The brothers had needed somewhere to hole up and rest after the last few days. First the demon attack, then Lilith's massacre, then finding out Ruby wasn't the friend that they had believed her to be, and then finding out they were soulmates in the very literal sense of the word and then...

It had been almost too much to deal with.

"Brother," Dean had groaned the night Castiel had left the first time, keeling over onto the bed that had been his for as long as they'd been coming to Bobby's, "talk about an information dump!"

Sam lay there, now, watching Dean sleep and found himself shaking his head. Had it really only been five days since Hendrickson had captured them? In many ways it seemed like years and years ago.

Dean's eyes fluttered open and stared straight ahead, glazed with sleep. "...dude..." he croaked out, still only half-awake. "Starin' at me?"

"Watching you sleep."

"...girl, Sammy..."

"Shut up and go back to sleep."

"...stoppit..."

"Okay, I'll stop." He got up and gathered his clothes for a shower. He smiled as he realised he didn't have to look back to see if Dean had fallen back asleep.

He just _knew_ Dean had.

In the shower, Sam let his thoughts wander. He had to catch them from wandering too far down the Playboy lane, chalking that up to the double influences of being a healthy 24 year old man and having part of his lecherous brother's soul lodged inside his own.

When they weren't trying to pick up stray Playmates, his thoughts wandered to the B'Shain and to Castiel. Sam wondered if there was going to be an answer today or if they'd have to wait a little bit longer.

He was still wondering that when he heard an indignant squawk from the bedroom, followed by Dean's bellow of: _"DUDE!_ Number one, you _don't_ wake somebody up from a sound sleep by poking two fingers into their forehead! And number two - _you're too close!_ There's a thing called _personal space_ and you're violating it all over the place! _BACK UP!"_

Sam jerked on his jeans and ran into the bedroom the boys shared, to find Castiel standing up from Dean's bed and Dean sitting up, hands still out as though he'd shoved the angel. "You're back," Sam blurted out.

"And you're only half-dressed and I'm only half-awake!" Dean growled. "Cas, would you please go downstairs and wait for us? And see about putting on some coffee or getting Bobby to?"

The angel's head tilted in that strange bird-like fashion of his. "My name is Castiel, not Cas."

Dean glared up at him. "Your name is gonna be _mud_ if you don't get out of here!"

Sam caught Castiel's eye and jerked his head toward the door. "Go on, we'll meet you downstairs. And try not to take it personal? Dean doesn't like to use three syllables when one will do."

Castiel nodded and then he was just... gone.

Sam chuckled as Dean rolled out of bed. "His name you shorten, mine you lengthen?"

"You'll always be Sammy to me."

"Fine, whatever." He got a v-necked t-shirt and his white and blue plaid shirt out and got dressed while Dean lay out his own clothes and went into the shower.

Sam made up both beds, laying Dean's clothing back down the way he'd had it. He'd just sat down to pull on his socks and sneakers when he heard, "Sammy, you better not have touched my clothes!"

"Bite me, jerk!" he hollered back as he finished tying his shoes.

"Oh, bring it on, bitch," Dean shot back.

Sam grinned, enjoying the banter. "I'm headin' downstairs. If there's no coffee on, I'll put some on."

"And see how many eggs we've got? I'm in the mood for an egg sandwich."

"I'll see what I can do." Sam knocked his knuckles on the bathroom door once and headed downstairs, smiling as he tried to sort out his own feelings today.

Relief that Castiel was here. Joy that they were both still alive. A lot of grief, still, that Dean's clock was counting down a little every day. Hope that this would be the day that countdown stopped and they would be free from deals and demons at last.

Dread that that might be just a little too much to ask. A little fear as to what the B'Shain were going to actually do. Trepidation over whether or not this could actually work.

Too much emotion for one soul to hold.

Good thing Sam and Dean happened to share one, then.

Sam found Castiel standing by the counter, listening patiently as Bobby outlined how to operate the coffeemaker. Bobby stepped back and swept his arm toward it, and Castiel nodded and made coffee like he'd been doing it all his life. Bobby smiled and clapped him gently on the shoulder, and Sam couldn't help but smile when Castiel answered the older hunter with a smile of his own.

Sam walked into the kitchen then. "Morning. Dean's in the shower and his highness ordered an egg sandwich for breakfast."

"You fry the sausage, I'll handle the eggs," Bobby said. "And Feathers here can handle the toast." He walked him through it, then the three stood side by side cooking. The easy rhythm of it was broken only when Bobby insisted Castiel take off his trenchcoat and dress coat and roll up his sleeves. "Safer that way."

Dean arrived to find a plate of toast, a plate of sausage, and perfectly fried eggs waiting on the table. Sam was pouring coffee and Castiel was pouring juice. He blinked and looked over his shoulder. "Uh...I'm in the wrong house?"

"Siddown and eat, ya idjit," Bobby barked.

"Right house," Dean grinned and sat down, helping himself to the food as the others did the same.

Castiel would not eat, but he did drink a glass of orange juice while the humans finished breakfast.

When the dishes were all put away and the pans washed - and Castiel was drying his hands after his first experience with dishwashing - he smiled slightly at Bobby. "Thank you for allowing me to assist."

"Allowing my left foot," Bobby snorted. "You're here for breakfast, you help with breakfast. House rules."

The brothers nodded. "Been that way all our lives," Dean put in. "So, what've you got for us?"

Castiel rolled down his sleeves and pulled on his jacket, though he left his trenchcoat draped over the kitchen chair. "The B'Shain want to meet with the three of you. Here. Today."

**CONTINUED...**


	5. And Answers

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Dean really hadn't known what he was expecting when the representative of the B'Shain showed up at the Salvage Yard. A traditional "little green man"? One of the big-eyed "greys" from the abduction accounts?

Whatever it was his brain supplied him with, the beautiful young red-haired woman that arrived with Castiel around 3 in the afternoon wasn't what he was expecting. Until she took her sunglasses off and he saw that her eyes were pink. "You're not an albino," he heard himself say.

She smiled at him. "No, I'm not. I'm B'Shain."

Sam frowned at this. "You're B'Shain. Is that a person, then, and not a race of people?"

Her smile grew. "It is my race. If you need a personal name, Helen will do fine."

"Helen?" Dean asked even as Sam finished "-of Troy?"

She laughed. "She was B'Shain, yes."

"Damn," Sam half-whistled.

Helen nodded at Dean. "We need to discuss certain things face to face."

"Of course." He gestured for her to come inside. She stepped over the salt line easily and walked through the devil's traps. "Something to drink?"

She nodded. "It has been a long journey. Water or tea would be nice."

Sam nodded and went to get some water for her as the others sat down in Bobby's living room.

Helen smiled as the glass was handed over and drained it. "Thank you," she said, handing it back. "That was very refreshing."

Dean looked at Sam, an eyebrow on the rise. Sam nodded - it had been holy water.

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room lightened a bit. "So," Dean asked with a charming smile. "You're going to be the ones to save my life?"

"And hopefully, in return, we can count on your assistance," Helen said with a nod. "But first, I understand you have some questions for me."

"That's why you're here, then," Bobby said from the doorway. "To answer our questions."

"Yes, that's why I'm here."

Sam passed him with the glass and whispered for Bobby's ears only, "Passed all the tests."

Bobby nodded. "That's why it's so chummy in there. Gotcha." He walked in, sliding the knife he'd been holding out of sight back into its hidden holster on his leg as he did so.

Dean was in the middle of a question when Bobby sat down. "-be doing out there? I mean, where do you remove these people to?"

Helen smiled at him. "Normally, we locate people to places where they can rest and live out their lives in peace and tranquility. But, for you two? I think you would be bored to death with that kind of life. We'd like to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. You would still hunt - but it would be things that would not remove your soul to Hell."

Sam sat down beside Dean. "You mean more like hostile aliens."

"Among other things." Helen's smile grew. "We would train you. We would give you everything you needed."

Dean looked at Sam. "Given the alternative, that sounds pretty good."

Sam nodded, a smile finally starting to bloom.

Helen went on. "As for what you would be able to take, I'd say only what could fit in the trunk of your 'baby', as you put it."

Dean's eyes went huge. "I can take her?"

"She would have to be modified - as would you - but we will aid you with that. As for Bobby and your friends Ellen and Jo?" She sighed. "The worry is that once you are Removed, your enemies will go after them and destroy them. And that would defeat the purpose of your Removal. So I will need to speak with them and see if they would also be amenable to being Removed and set up in professions suited to their talents and skills."

Bobby's eyes widened. "I can call 'em, have 'em here in about twelve hours." Helen's head inclined in a nod, and Bobby went to another room, pulling his cell from his pocket as he did so.

"What about you?" Dean turned to Sam. "What about your friends? Anybody out there for-"

Sam was shaking his head. "There's nobody, Dean. There really hasn't been since Jess and Madison. There's really nobody I keep in touch with anymore and nobody I -" He stopped and sighed. "I was about to say it would be nice if there was some way Hendrickson could be notified that we were gone, but he's dead now, so it's a moot point."

Dean squeezed his shoulder.

Helen stood up. "Now, please take me to see this 'baby' of yours so I can tell you exactly what needs to be done to it."

Dean and Sam stood and as they walked out of the house, Dean asked, "Uh - you're not going to turn her into a spaceship, are you?"

"Oh, no. But you will require ground transport and that's going to be her role." When Dean walked over and lay his palm on the Impala, Helen let out a low whistle through her teeth. "She's beautiful."

And Dean lit up like a Christmas tree on hearing the sincerity in her voice. His beaming smile said it all.

Helen circled the car. "There really isn't very much that needs to be altered. She's good and strong and large enough. There is room for the life-support nodule and the fuel system will have to be altered - but I will get you assistance with that."

Dean nodded. He was willing to do anything to keep his 'baby' with them.

Something else Helen had said suddenly clicked for Sam. "Hold on - you said _we_ would have to be altered as well. What did you mean by that?"

And both boys felt a ribbon of ice slide down their spines at Helen's answering smile.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

Helen and Castiel remained for lunch. Helen would say no more on the 'alterations' the boys would have to undergo, but she did tell them stories of the B'Shain's involvement in Earth's past.

Turns out Helen of Troy was not the only B'Shain to affect world history. Alexander the Great was an amnesiac B'Shain and the fever he died from had been caused by poison after all. Earth's atmosphere was poison to the B'Shain without regular medical treatment, which the amnesiac one hadn't known existed.

And there had been others, interfering when history got a little off-track. The Renaissance had been guided by the B'Shain, once they had become aware of why humanity had stagnated. World War II would have gone on twice as long if they hadn't interfered, and there was a good chance humanity would have been wiped out.

Sam raised the question if they had been aware of the Holocaust. And Helen's face fell when she admitted that the B'Shain were not omniscient. They had not known until just before the war ended. Her voice was cold and her pink eyes blazed when she added, "And it was ten times of great joy to find one of us had put a bullet through Hitler's brain."

The sound of a car outside cut short that story. Dean looked out the window. "It's Ellen and Jo."

"They're early," Sam mused.

"They must've pushed it," Bobby said as he headed for the door. "You wait here."

Some ten minutes later, Ellen and Jo walked in. Jo was still licking water off her lips. Bobby gave a nod, and the boys greeted them. "This is Helen," Dean introduced. "She's here to help."

"Help with what?" Ellen asked.

"Sit down, Mrs. Harvelle," Helen said, swinging a hand toward the couch. "I have a very long story to tell you and some of it you may find hard to believe. But trust us, it is all very true."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

When silence fell, Ellen was shaking her head. "This is..." She stood up and paced for a moment, then she rounded and slapped Dean so hard he staggered.

_"Ow,"_ Dean said, glaring up at her as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What was _that_ for?"

"A Crossroads Deal, Dean? _Really?_ And _you-_-" she rounded on Sam, who put up his hands.

"I know, I know, I need to watch my back!" he said, taking a step backward out of her reach.

"Damn straight!" Ellen glared at him. Then she turned to the B'Shain. "What will happen to us if we go, too?"

"You will be Removed," Helen answered. "You will be set up on a world in a career that suits your talents and three of you shall, if this is what you wish."

Jo nodded. "Sounds good to me - because I don't want to be reduced to a bargaining chip for something to come after Dean and Sam and them not even be here!"

Bobby chimed in, "Sounds about right to me, too."

"So you are agreeing to be Removed?" Helen asked.

The women nodded. "If it will save Dean - and ultimately the world, if what you say is true?" Ellen began and at Helen's nod, she finished, "Yeah. I'll do it."

"Me, too," Jo said.

Bobby nodded. "I think the three of us will need a week to wind up our affairs here?" At the Harvelles' nods, he looked at Helen.

"Then meet here in a week," Helen said as she stood. "As for you two..."

"Yeah?" the brothers chorused.

Helen chuckled at that. "We need to get started right away."

"How do we start?" Dean asked.

"And what exactly do you plan to do to us?" Sam demanded.

"Adapt you," was all Helen said about that. She pressed a slip of paper into Dean's hand. "Load everything you want to bring in the Impala and drive to this address. There is a parking garage at the top of the building. Go up to the very top of it and drive into tunnel B at the top. You will understand once you're there."

Helen hugged them all and then turned to Castiel. "I am ready."

Castiel nodded and pressed two fingers to her forehead. There was a sound like fluttering wings, and they were both gone.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Other than their clothes and half their weaponry, they chose to bring a copy of their dad's journal. They left the original at Bobby's house. Each of them brought three similar bound journals - blank - to document their travels. Each of them brought a case of pens. Photographs were few and far between, but they were brought. Sam bought three ipods with three different cards, and spent two nights downloading every conceivable bit of music he could find. Classical. Jazz. Country. Three different flavours of rock.

Dean surprised him by buying a fourth. Together, they filled all four with movies and TV shows and music, music, music.

They went out to a different place every night. Pizza. Mexican. Italian. Chinese. Dean even tried sushi - and found he didn't really care for it.

Then, as ready as they were ever going to be, they got into the Impala and drove to the address Helen had given them. At the top of the garage was a single tunnel marked B. They drove into it.

At the other end of the tunnel was a huge room that looked like a garage with more computers than they had ever seen in their life. Helen stood there, in a blue jumpsuit, smiling warmly at them as they turned off the car and stepped out.

Double pneumatic doors closed behind the Impala, and Helen's smile grew. "Welcome to the mothership of the B'Shain, gentlemen. Shall we get started?"

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

Helen introduced them to Mark, who was a short thin man with piercing pink eyes and black hair. He shook both their hands, then had Dean get back into the Impala and drive her into another massive room. As Dean got out, he recognised some diagnostic tools. "This is a garage, isn't it?"

Mark grinned. "Technically, yes. This is where the crafts are repaired." He circled the Impala. "She is beautiful, Dean. Your mechanical engineer on Earth did a marvelous job with her."

Dean beamed, and Sam chuckled. "Dean was the one who kept her up. He rebuilt her from practically the ground up nearly two years ago."

Mark let out a low whistle and grinned at Dean. "Then I would like you to help me in her modifications."

"Gladly." Dean set his jacket aside and rolled up his sleeves.

Helen touched Sam on the arm. "I need to speak with you. I have some questions."

Sam nodded. "I'll be back soon as I can."

Dean nodded and their eyes locked for a moment. Sam nodded, though he wasn't sure why, and he read relief in Dean's eyes before Dean turned to show Mark all that he'd done to the Impala when he rebuilt her.

_Okay, that was strange,_ Sam thought, but he turned to go with Helen anyway.

She led him to a seating area just a couple of rooms down from where Dean was working with Mark. They sat and she said, "I know you are hunters. But the hunters I know are usually more well-armed than I have seen you. The weapons in the trunk are a little - skimpy?"

Sam chuckled at the way she put that. "First of all, we've got some concealed in nearly everything. Including the clothing we're wearing right now."

Helen nodded. "Very smart."

"And we had duplicates of nearly everything, so we left the duplicates behind. He's better with guns, I'm better with blades. So we figured between us, we've got the bases covered without all the redundancies we'd built up over the years." He shrugged. "Plus it saves space if we need to rebuild a new arsenal."

"Which you will, out there," Helen assured him. "Some of your weapons that you used on Earth will be next to useless against the creatures out there."

"Yeah, we figured as much." He smiled. "That's why we left our father's journal behind as well. It is full of information on the supernatural creatures of our world, so we figured it would be an invaluable resource to other hunters. We brought raw materials to create our own hunting journals so we won't forget anything we learn of the dangers out there." He didn't see any reason to mention they had kept a copy of their father's journal simply because it had belonged to their father.

Helen sat back, visibly impressed. "You two never cease to amaze me. You are in a completely unfamiliar situation and you are adapting faster than any human we have Removed."

"Yeah - uhm." Sam leaned forward a little, smiling slightly at her. "Speaking of adaptations - you have mentioned several times that we would need to be 'altered'. I think it's about time we learned exactly what that means, don't you?"

Helen stared at him, blinking. Then she threw her head back and laughed. "And you also interrogate me as I am interrogating you! You are amazing, Sam Winchester. Very well, come with me. I will show you what we intend to do with you." She held up a hand. "It will not be done to you now. You and your brother will undergo it together. This is information only."

Sam stood up with her, nodding. "All right. Information only."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Sam walked back into the garage and Dean stood up from where he was bent into the trunk. "Well?"

"Well," Sam said, reaching to accept the duffel that Dean handed to him, "let's go bunk. We're in one room, and Helen assures me it's not bugged in any way."

"You know that doesn't mean much," Dean said as he followed his brother.

"I know, but considering she's been honest with us from the jump?" Sam shrugged. "I'm inclined to believe her."

Pneumatic doors opened onto a room reminiscent of hotel rooms. The decor was understated but nice, and the two king-sized beds looked absolutely inviting. "Whoa," Dean breathed and Sam grinned.

Dumping his duffel on one bed, Dean bounced a little on his bottom on it before he settled down and fixed Sam with a pointed look. "Did you talk?"

"We did. She showed us the medical bay and I spoke to Jaydon. He's one of the medics that will be working on us."

"What are they going to do to us, Sammy?"

Sam broke into a wide grin. "Well, for one thing, they're going to cure that pesky little case of mild asthma you've had since you were a child. And they're going to make absolutely certain that your heart is fine after the miracle healing."

"Sammy," Dean growled, figuring he was being teased.

"I'm serious, Dean. They're going to do all that. And they're going to modify our respiratory systems so that we will be able to breathe in any atmosphere we encounter. Because we're going to be mobile and not fixed to one world, they want us to be able to survive no matter what."

Dean nodded. He'd actually been expecting something like this. "So what's the catch?"

Sam's face fell. "We'll be like the B'Shain. We won't be able to survive in an atmosphere with the exact chemical cocktail as Earth's for more than a few months without medical intervention."

"So we won't ever be able to live on Earth again," Dean said slowly, his knuckles turning white on the bedspread as he gripped the edge of the bed. "Not permanently. Even without the threat of hellhounds on our asses."

"Nope," Sam said, clasping his hands between his knees. "You still wanna do this, Dean?"

**CONTINUED...**


	6. Changes

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Despite the doctor's visits they'd undergone since Dean's electrocution - including the car crash that had nearly killed him - Sam insisted the B'Shain give them both a full checkup before they agreed to anything.

In this, Dean backed him up completely.

Machines turned them inside out on computer screens as the medical staff and Helen and Mark looked on. Jaydon at last smiled at Dean. "Your heart is healthy. Your body is strong and can handle the rigours we are asking it to undergo."

Dean smiled a little as he sat up. Sam sat up as well, and Jaydon pointed at him. "You, lay back down. We're not finished with you yet."

Frowning, Sam lay back down. The tone of the medic's voice triggered alarm bells in Dean. "Okay, what did you find?" he asked, his tone brooking no arguments.

"There's an anomaly in his blood," Jaydon reported. "We're going to do a deeper, cellular-level scan to see if we can isolate it and find if it's dangerous."

Sam let out a small growl at that information. "It's the demon blood."

"The what?" Helen and Jaydon said together.

Sam blew out a deep sigh. "A demon bled into my mouth when I was six months old. Its blood supposedly amplified natural abilities I have. My father worried that it would turn me evil."

Jaydon scoffed. "Physical traits don't turn a person evil. Skewed perceptions and thought processes do. Selfishness does." His head tilted as he looked at Sam. "Helen, you know this child better than I do. Do you see him as evil?"

Now it was Helen's turn to scoff. "He's about as evil as a sunrise."

Sam's eyes - darkened to near jade by the lights of the medical bay - went huge. "...really?" he gasped, scarcely daring to hope.

Dean's hand was suddenly on his arm. "You see, Sammy? I told you."

Sam sniffled, still desperately wanting to believe. "But...But Dad..."

"Dad believed a demon. Demons lie," Dean reminded him. "Crowley didn't because their plans would have screwed with his business."

Sam smiled up at him. "And also because you put that truth scarab on his neck."

"Yeah, well..." Dean chuckled.

"Dean," Jaydon smiled at him. "I need you to step back. We need to do the cellular scan and at the moment, you're in the way."

Chuckling, Dean squeezed Sam's arm and then stepped back.

Jaydon ran the scan, then frowned and ran it again. "Dean...put your hand back where it was."

The brothers frowned at each other, then Dean put his hand back on Sam's arm.

"Push his sleeve out of the way and put your bare hand on his bare arm."

Sam raised his arm and unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt, rolling it to his elbow before he put it back down. Dean rested his palm on the warm flesh and their eyes met, each one's _What the __**hell**__?_ clearly reflecting back to the other.

"You'll feel a tingle, Dean," Jaydon said. "Don't worry, that's just the cellular scanner."

Sam nodded. "It does tingle. Kind of a tickling."

"Okay," Dean said, his voice soft with concern. What was going on?

There was a tingling sensation, then Jaydon frowned at his scanner. "Helen," he said in a low voice. "Come look at this."

Helen walked over and her pink eyes went huge. "That...That can't be right."

"It's what it's revealing. That's what's going on inside that boy."

"How?" she gasped. "That's not supposed to be..."

_"HEY!"_ Dean barked. "How about you two stop gogglin' over there and just tell us what the hell is goin' on with Sam?"

Helen raised her eyes to his. "What was that terminology that Castiel said Bobby used? 'Like attracts like'?" At his nod, she said, "Well, it would seem different repels different. For some reason, the anomaly in his blood thins whenever your hands are on him."

Jaydon nodded. "And it takes awhile for it to build back up in that area. That's why I caught it."

"So what are you saying?" Dean asked. "Because he carried a part of my soul that we're -"

"You're connected, Dean," Helen said, her voice hushed with awe. "On the most fundamental of levels."

"And the contamination in his blood is reacting to Dean's presence through that sliver of soul. His touch is forcing it to run and hide," Jaydon said, tapping a finger against his chin as he thought. "So, theoretically, if part of Dean is put into Sam..." He smirked. "Dean, we're going to do a marrow transplant."

_"What?"_ Dean roared. "Hold on, here! In case you've forgotten, we're on a _deadline,_ here! I don't have the months to spare while we see if I'm even a match, kill his marrow off and wait to see if mine takes hold!"

Jaydon smiled. "Dean, that's how Earth medicine works. This is B'Shain medicine. It will only take the work of a few moments."

Sam spoke up, "And my recovery time?"

"Hours. Days at the most," Jaydon assured him.

At that, silence fell thick and heavy on the medical bay. At last, Dean could stand it no longer. "Sammy?"

Sam was looking down at his hands. "Are you...Are you certain it will work?"

"Nothing is 100% certain, Sam," Jaydon said. "But we will certainly try."

"Yes."

Dean blinked. "What?"

"Yes." Sam looked up at him. "I said yes. I want to give it a shot, Dean."

Dean studied him, then nodded, curling a hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah, Sammy," he said, his voice thick. "Okay."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Dean ignored the dull throb in his hip as he watched Sam sleep. B'Shain medicine was amazing, he mused.

There were no IVs. No supplemental machines hooked up to Sam except for a nasal cannula. His little brother's chest was rising and falling with deep, even breaths and his face was peaceful.

Dean's eyes raised to the hood. A piece of transparent plastic covered Sam's head and shoulders and his lax hands rested on sheets made of shimmering blue silk that was shot through with sensors. The hood was another sensor and between all of them, there wasn't a system in Sam's body that wasn't being monitored.

_Kid looks like an extra from a Sickbay scene from 'Star Trek',_ Dean thought as he smiled fondly.

It had only been three hours since Jaydon had drawn some marrow from Dean's hip and injected it into Sam. The medical staff were keeping Sam asleep to monitor his progress.

A warm hand touched Dean's shoulder and he looked up and smiled. "Hey, Mark."

"How is he doing?" the B'Shain mechanic asked.

"So far so good," Dean said with a sigh. "Jaydon is keeping him asleep for now. They think it'll help him recover faster."

Mark smiled. "I'm certain it will. Have you thought any more about the other modifications?"

"To the Impala or to us?" Dean asked.

"To you."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, I've thought about it. I gotta admit, being able to still hunt out there has its appeals. I'm just not sure about it. I need to talk to Jaydon, make sure it'll stop at our lungs."

Mark nodded. "That makes sense to me. He'll sleep for awhile, won't he?"

"They think so," Dean nodded as well. "Why?"

"Because I thought you'd like to help me clear out the Impala so we can get started with her modifications." When Dean hesitated, he smiled. "It would give you something to do to pass the time."

Dean stared at Sam for another long moment, then stood. He pressed his hand to Sam's tattoo and heart, then he turned to Mark. "Sure thing. Let's go."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Mark stood, frozen to the spot, his eyes and mouth huge as Dean pulled weapon after weapon after weapon from the hidden panel in the trunk."Is...Is that all?"

"No, that's just this side." He grinned as he headed to the other side and kept pulling out guns and knives. "And this is after we left half of them behind."

"Son of a..." Mark breathed. "Are all hunters this well-armed?"

"Well, there are two of us," Dean chuckled. "And each of us collect what we're most proficient at using. With me, it's guns."

"And Sam?"

Pride coloured his voice and his smile. "Blades."

Mark's eyes trailed to the pile of knives that reached up to Dean's ankle.

"And then, of course, the salt and silver holy water and rosaries and spell books and Latin exorcisms..." He tossed a box of chalk at Mark.

"What's that for?" Mark asked as he turned it over in his hand.

"Drawing. Devil's traps and pentagrams and other protection sigils."

Mark whistled softly. "You sure had to do a lot of things."

"Have to. Just because we're being Removed doesn't mean we stop being hunters."

Mark nodded. "Sorry. You and Sam are some of the few we've done this to who are going to keep doing what they did on Earth. Most just want to escape and start fresh."

"We are starting fresh," Dean pointed out. "We're moving from hunting supernatural things to hunting things outside of Earth. That's a pretty radical shift."

After a moment's thought, Mark smiled. "It is, you're right. And I know you two will be successful. If..."

Dean looked up and frowned. "If?"

"Yeah, if." Mark's smile turned into a full grin. _"If_ you ever get that trunk cleaned out so we can get started modifying her!"

Dean blinked at him, then smirked. "Okay, you - get over here and help me unload it, then!"

Mark's grin only grew as he came over and froze, boggling a bit at the sheer amount of weaponry still in there. _"Damn,_ Dean!"

And Dean's laughter rang out into the bay.

It threatened to ring out again when Mark was moving the weapons piles and realised that two of the guns and four of the knives had suddenly and mysteriously - just simply vanished. Mark looked up at Dean, something akin to horror warring with awe in his eyes. "...seriously?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked innocently.

"Dean." Mark gestured at him. "You did not seriously just secrete two guns and four knives on your person!"

"What if I did?"

Mark's jaw lowered. "Could you show me how you did it?"

Dean's smile grew.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

"So," Mark said a half hour later as they bent over the empty trunk. "This false bottom is perfect. We can fit the electronics in here and in the side walls of the trunk proper and there's your trunk back."

Dean grinned at him. "Great. Can you show me exactly what we're going to be doing to her?"

"Sure, come over here." Mark led him to what Dean had learned was the main computer bank in the repair bay. He sat down and called up a series of schematics. "So what I'm thinking is that we'll start with the-"

The pneumatic doors opened and Helen stood there. "Dean, you're needed in the medical bay."

"What?" Dean felt a ribbon of ice sliding down his spine. He squeezed Mark's shoulder and strode to Helen's side. "What's happened?"

"Has he ever had issues with painkillers not working as usual with him?" she asked as they stepped out of the repair bay.

"The effects never seem to last as long with him as they do with me," Dean said, a frown crossing his face. "Why?"

"Sam's system is burning out the anesthetic a few hours early." She smiled as they turned and headed down the short, curved hallway to the medical bay. "He's waking up."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

As they entered the medical bay, Jaydon's voice ordered them to "Stay where you are - I'm scanning Sam."

Dean froze in place, vibrating from foot to foot as he waited impatiently.

"Okay, done."

Dean didn't need any further urging. He stepped forward and pushed the hood backward slightly so he could see his little brother's face unimpeded.

For a long moment, nothing changed. Then he saw Sam flinch and frown slightly.

"I'm here, Sammy," Dean said softly, reaching out to push sweaty hair off of his forehead. "I'm here. Wake on up."

Sammy made that odd little humming noise he always made when he was surfacing from anaesthesia - and how messed up was it that Dean knew Sam's regular patterns for coming out of anaesthesia? - and turned his head toward Dean's voice.

"That's it, little brother." Dean's fingers carded through his sweat-darkened hair. "I'm here and you're safe."

At that, Sam's eyes opened halfway and Dean felt that pang of disorientation he always got when he saw their altered colour from the harsh lights of the medical bay. The smile he gave Sam, though, wasn't forced at all. "Hey, sleepyhead. With me now?"

"Not...sure. ...'member...real weird things..."

"Like what?"

"...aliens...ship...takin' us 'way..." His head rolled. "Strange...dreams."

"Hate to break it to you, Sammy - but those weren't dreams."

Sam's eyes widened and Dean could see the exact instant memory returned. "...your marrow...demon blood..."

He nodded. "Got it in one."

"Work?" When he didn't answer, Sam's hand came up to grasp Dean's sleeve. "Dean?...d'it work?"

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "Jaydon was running tests when I came in, but he hasn't told me the results yet."

A tight nod, then Sam's tongue darted out to drag across his bottom lip.

"Thirsty?" Dean helped him sit up, tilting the bed instead of manhandling him up - he loved these beds and wondered if he could talk Mark into putting one in their quarters - and drink some water. "Better?"

"Yeah...thanks." Sam looked over to where Jaydon and Helen were approaching. They both were smiling. "Tell me... you've got good news for me."

"We've got good news for you, Sam," Helen said as she sat at the foot of his bed and Jaydon came to stand on his other side.

"Good," Sam said, grinning tiredly. "Could use some."

Jaydon grinned at him. "Your body is accepting your brother's marrow. The infection is slowly burning out of your system. That is why you feel so thirsty and tired."

Sam nodded. "Long?"

"Will it last long or are you asking for a timetable?"

"...time..." Sam's eyes were already drooping closed.

Seeing he was losing his audience, Jaydon answered quickly, "A day. No longer."

"M-kay." And Sam was asleep.

Dean chuckled and patted his brother's arm. "Sorry about that."

Jaydon shook his head. "He's not the first patient I've had conk out mid-report. Don't worry about it."

Dean was staring at his sleeping brother with an expression of incredulous delight on his face. "No more demon blood?" he asked softly, as though he was scarcely daring to hope again. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Jaydon said. "No more demon blood. The only blood his marrow is making now is human blood - one hundred percent _Winchester_ blood, since your own marrow is supporting his."

"Oh, my G-d," Dean laughed softly. "Dad... Dad said I'd either have to save him or I'd have to kill him." He looked up, his eyes huge with so much delight it was making him dizzy. "I saved him, Jaydon... You gave me the means to save him!"

Jaydon leaned over and clapped his hand onto Dean's shoulder. Though he was smiling, the B'Shain medic's pink eyes were blazing.

So were Helen's. "What kind of a monster of a father-" she breathed.

Dean shook his head. "My father wasn't a monster," he said, his tone brooking no arguments. "He was a bit - obsessed. But he wasn't a monster. For him, what he was asking me was asked out of love - for both of us. He'd rather see Sammy dead than turned into the monster he feared he'd become if the Yellow-Eyed - if Azazel had his way."

Helen slowly nodded. "I can understand that. But to put it on _your_ shoulders-"

"Sammy has been my responsibility since I was four years old," Dean informed her. "That's why I made the Deal in the first place - to keep him alive and safe. That's why we're working with you - to keep him sane. I don't matter, Helen. He does. He's all that's ever mattered."

Helen's brows drew together and she opened her mouth to protest that Dean _did_ matter, that he was important - but she didn't get it out before the cell phone in Dean's jeans pocket went off.

Dean frowned. "Huh. I thought I'd turned it off." He fished it out and frowned at the name blinking up at him. "...what?" he gasped, opening the phone and raising it to his ear. "Bobby, what's the matter?"

_"How's it going?"_ Bobby asked. _"Are you two ready to be-you know?"_

"We're... We're still working on it, Bobby. Are you and Ellen and Jo-"

_"We're all here together. We're heading your way real soon. And that's why I'm callin'. Tell your... hosts... there'll be four of us."_

"Four of you?" Dean frowned, looking over at Helen. "Why are _four_ of you coming?" Helen climbed to her feet, frowning as Dean finished, "Who's the fourth? What's happened?"

_"I don't know what's happened, Dean,"_ Bobby told him, his tone turning serious. _"But our fourth is Feathers."_

"Fe...Castiel?" Helen's eyes widened at that and Dean found himself sinking into the chair by Sam's bed. "Castiel's coming?"

_"He just showed up here about ten minutes ago, beat all to hell. Dean ... somethin's happened to that boy."_

"What-What do you mean, he's beat all to hell? I thought angels could heal themselves with a snap of their fingers!"

_"They can,"_ Bobby said, his voice suddenly going grimmer than Dean had ever heard it. _"But humans can't."_

"What?" Dean yelped._ "Human?"_

Helen's eyes widened and she whispered, "Are you speaking of Castiel?" At his nod, she spun on her heel and bolted, yelling for Jaydon, Mark and someone named Nessa that they'd yet to meet. She turned and pointed at Dean, saying, "Tell Bobby to be ready to go _now._ We have to get them to safety!"

Then she was gone.

Dean's eyes were huge. "Bobby?"

_"I heard. We'll be ready. Take care, boy."_ And Bobby hung up.

Sam opened his eyes to find Dean pacing, running his hands through his close-cropped hair. He frowned and sat up tiredly. "Dean?"

"I think we're out of time, Sammy."

The soft, shocked tone of his voice stunned Sam. He threw back the covers and got out of bed. Weaving dangerously - nearly falling - he headed over to Dean and took his arms, halting the frantic pacing. "What's happened?"

Dean shook his head, his eyes huge and alarmed. "I don't know," he whispered. "The B'Shain... they've gone to get Bobby and Ellen and Jo and Cas... something bad's happened, Sammy. Something real bad!"

"How bad? How do you know?"

Dean's eyes bored into his. "Because somehow Cas ain't an angel no more."

Now Sam's eyes went wide. Dean had never gone to college, but he'd always prided himself on at least using proper grammar so that nobody thought they were just two uneducated country boys. Their father had drilled that into them. For Dean's diction to slip into something resembling Bobby's when riled - that meant Dean was seriously at sea emotionally and needed help.

He needed Sam.

Sam wrapped his arms around Dean and guided them both back to the bed. He sagged gratefully onto it - his legs had started to tremble from exhaustion - and tugged Dean down to sit with him. "Why did you say we're out of time?"

Dean looked down at his upturned hands. "Cas showed up - Bobby said he's beat to hell...he can't heal himself. He's apparently human. When Helen heard that, she lit out like a bat outta hell to get them. And... And I've got this sinking feeling that when they get back, my time is up. That I have to decide about the... the alterations."

Sam rubbed his shoulder with the palm of his hand. "Have you decided?"

Slowly, Dean raised his eyes to look at Sam. "I'm scared, Sammy. I want this - I want to live - but I'm scared that if I let this get done, I won't be human anymore."

"You mean we won't."

Dean shook his head. "No, Sammy - this is all me this time."

"And you think I'm gonna let you go through this alone? No, Dean. I'm gonna have the alterations, too. I'm gonna be right there by your side."

"You just got my marrow inside you-"

"And I'm still recovering. I know. And Dean, I've got a piece of your _soul_ inside me. We share everything, do you get me, here? We share _everything._ And we're going to do this _together."_

"So if I say yes, I'm deciding for you, too."

"No, Dean. You're not. I decided for me. You decide for yourself and I'll be right there by your side." He squeezed Dean's wrist. "Because we stick together."

Dean took a deep breath and took a good, hard look at Sam. "Lay down."

Sam smiled and released Dean, tilting over and landing on the pillow. Dean stood up and poked his leg, and Sam pulled them onto the bed. Though his eyes were starting to close, Sam smiled at his brother. "Together, okay?"

Finding himself smiling back, Dean slid his hand through Sam's hair and down onto his cheek. He watched the fox-like eyes close all the way and he whispered, "Yeah, Sammy. I gotcha. Together."

Sam's smile turned into a full-fledged grin and he rolled onto his stomach, sliding both hands under the pillow.

With nothing to do but wait, Dean sat down on the edge of Sam's bed and began to rub circles between his shoulder blades. He hated just waiting. It made him feel powerless and rankled him down to his core.

Soon, Helen and Jayden came into the medical bay, with the four newcomers right behind. Bobby was holding Castiel's weight and he laid him down on the bed across from Sam.

_Bobby was right,_ Dean thought to himself. _Cas looks beat to hell and back._ He watched Helen and Bobby wrangle Castiel's trenchcoat and suit jacket off, then slide off his tie. Bobby took Castiel's shoes and socks off and slid his feet onto the bed.

Jayden lowered a transparent hood over Castiel's head and shoulders and turned on the scanner. He turned his attention to Dean, then. "How's your brother?"

"He's okay. Sleeping it off, still." Dean looked down at Sam. "He was up for a little bit while you were gone. We talked."

"What about?" Helen asked as she watched Ellen move to Dean's side and run her fingertips down his cheeks.

"You okay?" she asked him, worry in her eyes.

Dean smiled at her. If Bobby had become their surrogate father, then it seemed as if Ellen had set herself up as their surrogate mother. "We're okay," he assured her. "Reeling from everything, but okay." His eyes rose to Helen's. "We talked about the alterations we had discussed. Would it be possible to hold off on them until Sam recovers?"

Helen looked at Jaydon, who nodded. She smiled and nodded as well. "It seems as though that would be the best way to go."

"Then my answer's yes - but only when Sam's well."

A small gasp of pain drew their attention, and all eyes turned to Castiel. "Hey," Dean said, and the bruised blue eyes turned to face him. "What the hell happened?"

Castiel shuddered from his head to his feet and whispered, "Helen."

Helen went over and took his hand. "I'm here, Castiel."

"Helen...must leave... now."

"Why?" she asked.

Castiel's tongue darted out to moisten cracked, bleeding lips and he winced at the small sting. "Have to go..."

"Tell me why," she said gently but firmly.

His hand tightened on hers and he whispered two words.

"They're coming."

**CONTINUED...**


	7. Removal

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Helen's hand tightened on Castiel's tight grip and she asked, "Who, Castiel? Who is coming?"

"Z-Zachariah..." he stuttered out. "A-And L-Lilith..."

"Together?" Bobby yelped, and cursed in several languages when Castiel nodded.

Dean frowned. "Who's Zachariah?"

Helen lay Castiel's hand on his stomach and turned to Dean. "An angel. One we thought we could trust. But if he's working with Lilith..."

Dean shook his head. "Crowley and Castiel both hinted that both heaven and hell wanted me in Hell..."

"-to break the first seal and start the Apocalypse," Bobby growled. "And if they're coming... together..."

"They're coming after Dean," Helen said grimly. "Are you all here? Are you all completely ready to leave?"

They all nodded and Dean gripped Sam's lax wrist.

"We are out of time," Helen said and raced out of the room, with Jo right behind her.

Jaydon ran another scan on Castiel and looked Dean and Bobby and Ellen. "He's definitely human," he said grimly. "O-positive blood, slight damage to his eyes and ears - correctable - mild asthma and-" He broke off suddenly.

"And?" Dean asked.

"There is a biogenetic marker that could enable him to be tracked." Jaydon snarled and picked up a hypodermic which he filled with a clear liquid. "This is not going to be fun." He injected Castiel with it.

Moments later, Castiel was only half on the bed. His upper half was hanging off of it as he violently vomited into the basin Jaydon put by the head of the bed. When the bout of illness had passed, Jaydon injected him again and the blue eyes rolled back in his head as he slid into a drugged sleep.

Jaydon took the basin of illness and immolated it. "There," he said with a sigh. "Problem solved."

Dean blinked as a shudder passed through the floor and a low rumble teased at his eardrums. "What's that?" he asked.

"The ship is lifting off," Jaydon said, turning to shoot a humourless smile at him. "Congratulations, Dean. You are now being Removed."

Dean's eyes went huge. "It's over? I'm free from the Deal?"

"Not yet," Jaydon said. "But it's in progress."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

Dean looked up from the book in his lap and broke into a wide smile. "Hey! Look who's up and around!"

Sam smiled as he came into their quarters and sank onto his bed, sitting on the end. "Yeah, I'm finally all recovered. Now there's a mystery to solve."

"What's that?"

"Since when do I come in and find you with your nose in a book?"

Dean's shoulders stiffened. "I read!"

"Not normally, no."

"Oh, bull," Dean laughed and raised the book so Sam could see the cover.

Sam laughed as it all suddenly made sense. "Yeah, well, I suppose when it comes to that, you definitely would be devouring a book."

"Especially since we can't access the internet anymore," Dean put in, marking his page and setting the book aside. "You okay?"

Nodding, Sam sighed. "I am. Feeling stronger every hour that goes by. More stamina. My body's accepted the marrow and fully integrated it. My bloodwork is now 100% human."

Dean nodded in satisfaction. "Better than we could have hoped for. Now you just gotta build up your stamina again."

"Which is what's going on." He nodded at the book. "So when do you get started?"

"In the morning. And once that's done-"

"You and I have our turn," Sam finished.

Dean suddenly sobered. "Any word on Cas?"

"He's still asleep," Sam informed him."He's not as completely human as everyone first thought."

That got Dean's attention. "What?"

"There's an energy inside him that humans don't have. Jaydon theorises that it might be an angel's grace - the thing that gives them their abilities in the first place." Sam smiled. "And Jaydon says that he's definitely got wings."

Dean whistled through his teeth. "So he can fly?"

"They don't know yet. All that's clear is that he has wings." Sam put his hand against the wall. "We've been vibrating since I woke up. Are we moving?"

"We're not only moving, we've taken off," Dean said. "We've been in space for about twelve hours now. We're heading out of the solar system. I asked about an hour ago where we were and Helen told me we were nearly to Mars." He grinned. "And she let me see. Dude - after we eat something, I have _got_ to take you up there. It's _amazing."_

Sam made a sound that may or may not have been a scoff - because he was smiling, it was difficult to say. "I thought you were scared to fly."

"But we're not flying," Dean put in. "We're traveling in ispace/i. We can't crash in the middle of a vacuum!"

Not having any argument readily available to that, Sam asked, "So you're okay with this?"

Dean chuckled. "I'm being Removed, Sammy. This is finally happening. And you're with me. _And_ you're all better. So, yeah - I'm okay."

Sam leaned over and squeezed his arm. "You're gonna start in the morning?"

"Yeah. Gonna start from the back and work our way forward." He tilted his head slightly. "You want to help?"

"Sure. If we're going to do this together, we might as well do it from the start."

"Besides," Dean said, picking up the book again. "If something happens, you might need to know how to fix her. So, c'mere." He slid over, and Sam climbed onto the bed beside him.

Dean opened the manual he'd been studying, and they studied the mechanisms they would begin to install in the Impala. Dean patiently explained where Sam didn't understand, and they passed a pleasant three hours.

In mid-sentence, Dean became aware that Sam's head was resting on his shoulder. "Sam?"

No answer.

"Sammy?"

He turned his head and chuckled softly. He closed the manual and eased out of the bed, gently laying Sam flat and pulling the covers off of the other bed, tucking in his sleeping brother.

He'd wake him in a few hours and feed him. Then Dean would introduce him to the new reality they were now living.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

The last of the asteroids fell away from the screen and Jupiter swelled larger and larger on the left with every moment. The sight was beautiful. Surreal. Absolutely incredible.

But none of it mattered to Dean. None of it was as beautiful as the look of absolute, childlike wonder on Sam's face. He could no more tear his eyes away from that look on his little brother's face than he could stop his own giddy grin of joy.

This whole ordeal had been worth it. Just for that one moment of Dean seeing his little brother grin in dazed wonder, drunk with delight - everything to that point had been worth it.

Sam turned toward Dean and opened his mouth, but he was interrupted by the rumble of his stomach. "Hungry?" Dean quipped.

Sam grinned at him. "A little," he chuckled and they headed to their quarters. "Wow, Dean - you said that was amazing, but I thought it would be like the textbooks showed it - but all those _colours_ and it's just... it's _beautiful!_ You didn't tell me the _half-"_

Dean grinned as they waked down the hallways and he listened to Sam ramble on. "Hey," he said as they were nearly at their quarters.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Ramblefish."

Sam laughed, grinning. "Oh, bite me," he chuckled and they headed into the small room, where they knew food was on the way since they'd all heard Sam's stomach rumble.

As they waited, Dean asked, "So did you find out what's up with Jo? Why she's trailing Helen and Nessa everywhere?"

Sam made a sound midway between a chuckle and a sigh. "She's learning."

Dean blinked, his eyebrows raising. "She's...learning?"

"M-hm. Ellen says she's learning everything she can just in case she decides to hare out on her own again." He let a grin escape. "It's a little different now than just getting into a car and driving into the next town over."

"Slightly!" Dean snickered. "And that's Jo all over, isn't it? Gather as much information as you can, as quickly as you can..."

There was a sudden knock on the door and the brothers chorused, "Yeah?"

"It's me," a welcome voice said. "With food."

"Cas!" Dean laughed as Sam opened the door. "Well, look at you!" he grinned as the former angel walked in, awkwardly balancing three trays.

As Sam took them all from him and carried them to the desk, Castiel looked down at himself. "What is it that I should look at?" he asked. "And why do you persist in shortening my name?"

"That's just Dean being Dean," Sam said. "I'd quit arguing with him about it if I were you - he'll just keep doing it anyway."

Castiel hummed and moved to sit on Sam's bed. "Very well. That is the last I shall say of it. Now - what should I be looking at?"

"You look good," Dean said with a thumbs-up. "Really good. How do you feel?"

"Strange," Castiel admitted with a small sigh. "I feel strangely heavy but light at the same time. It is - bizarre - to be in different clothing." He turned his hands over, studying the odd sight of the sweatshirt's light blue fabric encasing his arms and soft, faded jeans with a black belt. "And..." he let out another sigh and reached up, pushing the new glasses up further onto his nose. "These are surprisingly heavy."

"Of course they are," Sam said, handing Dean a tray and then placing another across Castiel's lap before taking one for himself and sitting down beside Castiel. "You're not used to them, yet. What about your hearing?"

Castiel shook his head. "I have a ten percent hearing loss in both ears. It's more annoying than anything. Just like having to wear glasses for my eyes to function properly. Annoying." He took a bite of food and his nose wrinkled. "So is having to eat to survive. And sleep - one-third of my life unconscious?" He shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking."

The brothers shot each other a confused glance, then Dean said, "Wait a second. Back up the truck, here. You _chose_ this? You _chose_ to become human?"

His mouth full of food, Castiel nodded at him. He swallowed and took a swallow of water, then spoke. "Much has happened over the last day or so. I was human a mere handful of hours before I was found by those of my brothers who follow Zachariah. They chose to attempt to make an example of me."

"The beating," Sam said.

"And the damage to my eyes and ears," Castiel said. "They used their true voices and visages to try to cripple me. But I retain enough grace that they could not."

"I don't understand," Dean said, gesturing with his fork. "Why did you do this, Cas?"

Castiel smiled. "So I could come with you."

Sam blinked. "As an angel, you couldn't?"

"Not once you took off. Our Father made the universe, but He put very clear limits upon where we angels can and can not go. There is only one angel that can leave Earth without Father's blessing. So if I were to go with you - and I so wanted to - I could no longer be an angel. I didn't Fall from Grace," he quickly added. "I chose another way."

"I thought angels didn't want things," Sam said, confused. "I thought they were made to serve."

"We are," Castiel said. "I do not fully understand what's going on, but I know I wanted this and I chose this path. I chose to be with you."

"That's because you've always been special," a voice full of danger and laughter rang out. Sam shot to his feet, the gun Dean hadn't been aware he'd been packing suddenly in his hand and pointed at the doorway.

The slight man there - the Trickster - smirked and spread his hands. "Sammy. I'm disappointed. I come all this way and this is the greeting I get?"

Sam's jaw worked and opened, but then something happened that shut him up and sent him to gaping.

Castiel shot to his feet and was across the room in a few steps, gathering the Trickster into his arms and gasping out a word that brought everything to a screeching halt.

_"GABRIEL!"_

**TO BE CONCLUDED...**


	8. The MaryJohn

**SAVED TO SAVE**

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

The Trickster - Gabriel - awkwardly patted Castiel's shoulder. "Way to go, outing me within thirty seconds. You're like a little boy sometimes, you know that?" He pulled back, scanning him up and down. "And look at you." He scoffed. "Little brothers are supposed to be _little_ brothers, not taller than their big brothers!"

Dean couldn't help but chuckle. "I hear _that."_ At Sam's glare, the chuckle turned into a full laugh.

"He can't really help it," Sam blurted out. "His vessel-"

"-is home with his family," Gabriel interrupted. "I used his DNA as a starting point, but this is Castiel. One hundred percent Castiel, ninety percent human and ten percent grace." His smile was warm as he squeezed Castiel's shoulder. "I didn't expect you to grow any more after I dropped you off, though! You were only supposed to age a little more, not grow!"

That was what had seemed "off'' about Castiel, Dean realised. He had seemed young their first few meetings, but he seemed younger still since reappearing as a human. "How young did you take him?"

"Nineteen - twenty - something along those lines," Gabriel replied.

Dean nodded. "Sammy here was that age when he left for college - and when I came to get him when he was 22, he'd grown two inches!"

"Dean," Sam growled, the gun not wavering. "This is the Trickster you're getting chummy with!"

Suddenly serious, Gabriel stepped forward. "I owe you an apology, Sam. I was trying to make you see that letting Dean go to hell was the way things should have been. I wasn't aware of the reasons behind my family's misguided decision to make sure he gets there and even less so of the dealings with the High Family of Hell. Once I found them out, I decided to do everything I could to get you both free."

Something about the way he delivered that sounded familiar to Dean. He frowned and gestured at Gabriel. "I get it now."

All eyes turned to him as Dean put his hand on Sam's outstretched gun hand, lowering it and the gun to Sam's side and tapping his fingers firmly on Sam's wrist. Sam scowled, but obeyed the unspoken signal and made the gun vanish into the same hidden place he'd pulled it out of.

Dean's eyes never moved from Gabriel. "Crowley wasn't just being an overly helpful demon, was he?"

"No," Gabriel admitted. "He wasn't. And it's amazing that you figured it out."

"Dean?" Sam asked, clearly confused.

Dean pointed at Gabriel. "You were either controlling him or wearing him like a cheap suit. Which was it?"

"Neither. I simply made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"Which was?" Dean and Sam chorused.

Gabriel smirked, but his voice was kind. "I simply told him that if he did this - went to you and told you the entire, unvarnished truth with no angle to himself except stopping what would ultimately stop his business - the angels would make sure he was left completely alone to do whatever he wanted for a span of ten years. Provided he dealt in things other than souls for that time period."

Sam goggled. "And he agreed to this?"

"Of course he did." Gabriel's smirk turned into a full smile. "He is a businessman, after all."

Castiel turned to the Winchesters, his eyes alight with joy behind his glasses. "Gabriel is the only angel our Father gifted with the ability to leave Earth without Father's blessing. And then only for specific reasons."

"And to check up on my stubbourn, special little brother qualifies." Gabriel ran a hand over his shoulderblade. "Who was the bastard who damaged you, Castiel?"

"Mariel and Navariel."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "Zachariah's loyalest. Blind followers. I'll deal with them. And with Zachariah."

"And Lilith?" Sam asked.

"And Lilith," Gabriel confirmed. "This has been completely out of bounds. Heaven and Hell working together to bring about the Apocalypse - _without_ our Father's permission - _and_ torturing an entire family in the meantime? That's wrong."

"That's rich, coming from you," Sam ground out.

"Sammy," Dean hissed.

Gabriel shook his head. "It's okay, Dean. After what I did to him in Broward County, I deserve every inch of his ire. I can only offer my apologies and assure you that I was misguided." He nodded suddenly. "But he's right, too. Looking at it through a Trickster's lens, it does seem a bit hypocritical. Maybe this can put it into some perspective."

He moved deeper into the room and sat down at the small desk. Castiel sat on one of the beds and Dean sat on the other. A gentle tug on his arm, and Sam sank down to sit beside his brother.

Once everyone was settled, Gabriel began. "A Trickster does what he does to teach people a lesson. If they don't learn it and keep bumbling into the same things, they will sometimes end up dead. I never killed anyone outright - not even Dean in your time loop, Sam," he said when Sam opened his mouth. "Those were illusions in your mind. I was trying to teach you the futility of trying to save Dean from what I thought was his fate. You learned that lesson, and I released you. I followed the Trickster's Code."

"How many Tuesdays did you have, Sammy?" Dean asked, his eyes huge.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "I lost count after 102."

"Two hundred and eighty-four," Gabriel said. "They stopped being fun after that. So I did the other illusion to try to get it across, and that one worked."

"Other-illusion?" Dean looked at Sam again, watching him seem to shrink into himself, his hands turned up on his thighs and his head bowed so that his hair fell forward, trying to shield his face. "Oh, no, you don't." He brushed the brunet curtain aside and tilted Sam's face up with three gentle fingertips pressed to his chin. "Other. Illusion," he prompted. "What was it?"

Sam licked his lips. "You died," he said his voice hollowed out and ragged. "You died. On Wednesday. You stayed dead. For six damned months. I...I learned I couldn't handle living without you. That I'd been fooling myself at Stanford and Flagstaff and..."

"Those times before," Castiel pointed out, "You were alone in your soul. This time you were not."

Gabriel frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"They share a soul," Castiel said. "Each has a splinter of the other's soul inside them."

Gabriel's eyes went huge and his palm struck the desk. "Hellfire, no _wonder_ you reacted the way you did in Broward County! Now that makes _sense!_ I always wondered why you reacted the way you did since that was your brother and not - but if you're _soulmates_...that makes _perfect_ sense!"

Silence fell for a few moments, then Dean cleared his throat. "Okay, well, then." He spread his hands, careful not to hit Sam as he did. "So what's next?"

"Next?" Gabriel stood and walked over to the bed where Castiel sat. He smiled down at his newly human brother, and received a shy smile in return. Gabriel's amber eyes never left Castiel's bespectacled cobalt ones as he finished, "Next, we have a little bit of work to do."

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN**

After Gabriel finished with Castiel, Dean grinned as their new friend removed the glasses he no longer needed and Gabriel wiped his cheeks and neck, removing the damaged tissue that had leaked out when his ears had been healed.

"So tell me," Dean said casually, "Gabriel said that you have always been special. How so?"

"Angels are ministering spirits," Castiel said. "We have been created to help. To do nothing but what we're told. Ever since my creation, though, I've been wanting to know things. To learn things. To... to experience. And I've been reprimanded by my superiors over and over and over again because of it."

Gabriel sat beside him. "How many times have you been reprimanded?"

Castiel sighed. "Eight thousand, five hundred and ninety-four."

"And how many of those have I told you you've deserved?"

Castiel's slight smile felt as full of warmth as if he'd full-on beamed at Gabriel. "Zero."

"Exactly." Gabriel squeezed his neck. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to experience and to learn. Absolutely nothing."

Sam nodded. "So is that why you wanted to come with us?"

Castiel looked at him. "I have never met a family like you before. You have nothing but each other and yet you have done more for each other than most families who have everything. You have risked everything and lost everything and yet you keep going. So long as you are together, you are content. And now..." He spread his hands. "And now you are moving to live among the stars. I want to be there. I want to live among the stars and watch the humanity that has been Removed out here. I want to learn and I want to grow."

"So that's why you gave up being-"

Castiel interrupted Sam. "But I haven't given anything up. I am exactly where I want to be. I am exactly _how_ I want to be."

Gabriel curled a hand over the back of his neck and smiled warmly at him. Then he looked over at the Winchesters. "I've got a proposition for you."

"Name it," Dean said.

"The B'Shain are going to alter you to function easily on other worlds. I can do it in less time and with less pain. And I'll alter the Impala in the ways necessary as well."

Sam studied him. "What's the catch?"

Gabriel blinked. "Sammy, I'm insulted! Catch?"

"The trick, Trickster," Sam shot back. "What's in it for you?"

"Just this," Gabriel said. "Let me pop in from time to time. After all, Castiel is my little brother and I'd like to keep an eye on him."

Dean and Sam locked eyes and Dean nodded. Sam sighed and looked back at Gabriel. "Fine. But only you."

"Well," Gabriel chuckled. "Since I'm the only one who _can..."_

"Fair enough," Sam said.

"It's a deal," Dean smiled.

Gabriel returned the smile. He stood and walked over to Dean. He put the palm of his left hand on Dean's forehead and closed his eyes, concentrating.

Then Gabriel snapped the fingers of his right hand.

Dean's eyes went huge as a golden light shot down his body. He found himself gasping deeply as every cell in his body tingled and tickled.

Gabriel removed his palm and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Weird," Dean admitted. "But it's a good weird."

Gabriel smiled and looked at Sam, silently asking permission.

Sam looked steadily back. After a long, tense moment, he nodded.

Permission given.

**SPN SAVED SPN TO SPN SAVE SPN **

Gabriel left after altering both little brothers and taking a side trip to the mechanical bay.

Once he was gone, the Winchesters and Castiel went to see Jaydon.

"I don't believe this," Jaydon said after he had scanned all three of them. "I honestly do _not_ believe this!"

"Believe what?" Dean asks.

"You - all _three_ of you - have B'Shain longevity markers in your DNA! And _you-"_ He pointed at Castiel. _"You_ suddenly have a bit of _Winchester_ DNA in you!"

"Gabriel?" Dean asked, turning to Sam.

Sam nodded. "Had to be." He looked at the medic. "Jaydon, what are longevity markers?"

Jaydon took a deep breath. "Nessa and I are the only true B'Shain aboard this ship. Helen and Mark started out human and developed the longevity markers. B'Shain have lifespans into thousands of your human years. I am the oldest and Mark is the youngest."

"They're from Earth?" Dean asked.

Nodding, Jaydon said, "Helen had some kind of war fought over her beauty and Mark was present the night the Blessed One was betrayed by a kiss. He's recorded in the human Bible as a young man who ran away naked."

The Winchesters laughed, and Castiel deadpanned, "We will be certain to never let him live that down."

That set Jaydon to laughing, and he added, "I've never gone planetside, but Nessa - our fourth, the one you've not met yet? She is a scientist fascinated with one particular lake in what I think you call Scotland. Her bio-mechanical sample gatherer keeps getting mistaken for some kind of monster." He grinned at their double-takes, but then he sobered. "And now you three have the B'Shain markers as well. Though why Castiel suddenly has Winchester-specific DNA in him, I can't say."

Mark entered the medical bay at that moment. "Dean? The Impala is done - I think. I can't get into her - her entry ports are now touch-activated by a specific DNA marker that I don't have."

Sam and Dean looked at each other and chorused, "Winchester DNA."

A trip to the mechanical bay confirmed it. The Impala now unlocked and started only for someone with Winchester DNA. Dean's skilled eyes could see the solar panels she sported now. A quick check of the engine showed she ran on solar-charged batteries fueled by oxygen instead of gasoline. In the hidden compartment of the trunk was a life-support system and miniature shield generators and weaponry.

There were secondary hidden compartments now for their own weapons, which folded down from each door.

Dean just gaped at her in awe. "She's perfect," he whispered.

Sam grinned over at him. "Gabriel did a good job, huh?"

"Oh, hell, yeah," Dean grinned back.

"Dean." They turned to find a smiling Helen standing there. "News."

"What?" they chorused.

Helen's smile grew. "We have passed through the asteroid belt that surrounds your solar system. Your Removal is complete, Dean."

Sam's eyes widened. "You mean - he's _free?"_

Castiel was beaming. "Yes, Sam - he's free."

Dean sank into a low crouch, head bowed, as he struggled to regain control of his emotions. "It's over," he gasped. "Oh, my G-d, it's really over..."

"In a way," Helen said. "In a way, it's just begun. Come with me, you three - there's something I need to show you."

She led them to the bridge, and gestured to the main viewscreen, where a red and silver ship hovered in the darkness.

"A B'Shain cruiser," Castiel identified. "I don't recognise the paint job, though."

Helen nodded at it. "That ship is fully supplied. It takes a minimum of two people to operate. It is self-educating - meaning that it will teach the operators how to run it and fix it. There is tons of room aboard for cargo and a crew of any size." Her smile turned sly as she turned to them. "Or for comfortable occupancy by three large human men and one massive muscle car."

Dean's head swiveled around so fast Sam had an insane image of it rolling off and bouncing down the hall. "...seriously?" he gasped. _"Seriously?"_

"Seriously," she laughed.

"That's _ours?"_

"We dock in twenty minutes," Helen replied. "Go get ready for transfer to your ship. Oh - and she needs a name."

Dean opened his mouth and Sam cleared his throat. "And we're not calling her 'Enterprise'."

"Dammit." He studied the ship for a long moment, before his lips curled upwards in a fond smile. "The _MaryJohn_."

Sam squeezed his wrist. "I think they'd like that."

"You okay with it?"

Sam grinned at him. "I like it, too. Let's go get packed up - we're twenty minutes out from the best adventure of our lives!"

Dean nodded and took two steps away. Then he whirled and hit Sam on the arm. "Last one to the room has to clean the bathroom!" he laughed, breaking into a run.

"Jerk!" Sam yelled as he took off seconds later.

"Bitch!" Dean hollered over his shoulder.

Helen laughed, watching them round the corner and vanish from sight, hollering insults at each other the entire way.

Those boys would be absolutely perfect in their new roles.

They had chosen wisely.

**EPILOGUE**

The Seven Systems had been in disarray for a very long time. The fifty worlds that belonged to the Alliance of Seven and the hundred worlds that did not were still very much places of lawlessness and injustice.

Slowly, though, word began to spread that a stabilising force had arrived.

Needed something found? Needed Earth history or lore? Bobby Singer was the place to look - if you could find him.

Needed a bit of a break? Ellen Harvelle's Roadhouse was the place to be - if you could find where it was parked that cycle.

Ellen's daughter Jo was rumoured to be with the B'Shain, working hard on Removals and Re-establishments.

But the _real_ story was on the ground.

Space-based people reported catching glimpses of a red-and-silver cruiser in areas where there was usually trouble. They reported things improving - slowly.

But in the small settlements was where the real rumours spread.

Things were bad. Times were hard. People were suffering. There seemed no respite. No hope.

Sometimes, though, if things had gone too far? A shooting star would cross the night sky, blazing silver and red and bringing thunder in its wake.

A sleek black monster of a transport would drive into the settlement hours or days later. Its throaty rumbling purr was at once both comfort and challenge. Three men - two brothers by birth, one brother by choice - would be inside.

And things would change.

The Winchesters had arrived.

And everything was going to be all right.

**THE END**


End file.
